Piercing Blue Eyes
by Unforgettable.Love
Summary: She was gorgeous, with beautiful black hair and piercing blue eyes. Taylor Gilbert, Elena's sister, was gone for a year and she's come back. What secrets does she keep? Damon wants to know, but he needs to realize she's not Katherine.
1. Chapter 1: My Brightest Hour

_Chapter one: My Brightest Hour_

* * *

_Elena, _

_I know you'll understand what I'm going to say. I know it because I know you. But I'm a coward. I can't bring myself to look you in the eyes and tell you what I've wanted to say for so long. _

_It always lingered in the back of my mind. When I woke up in the morning, as I left for school, even when I was laughing and having fun; it was still there. Those nagging thoughts that told me something was wrong. Different. _

_Sis, I tried so hard. I wanted to put on a smile and pretend that I'd be fine. I wanted to believe that things would get better. I still do. A part of me believes that it will. But I stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago. _

_This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. _

_I don't want to leave you and Jeremy. I love you both so much. I don't want to go, but I _need_ to, Elena. I hope you can understand. Every day I try to ignore it, a piece of me is breaking, disappearing. Elena, I'm so afraid that if I stay, I will fall apart. Mystic Falls is my home, it will always be. But there is something I need to figure out, something that has been calling out to me. It seems crazy, I know, but there's no other way to describe it. _

_I need to figure out who she is, Elena. When I do, I'll come back home. I'll come back. I promise._

_Love always,  
Taylor._

"Are you reading your letter _again_?"

Taylor glanced up from the letter gently gripped between her small fingers. She had been sitting for hours on a small park bench under a beautiful tree with newly blooming flowers. Smiling at her sudden visitor, she watched as a flower broke off in the wind and slowly floated downwards. It twisted and turned gracefully until it finally landed on the grass near her feet.

"Actually," she said, a glint of mischievousness present in her eyes. "I _am_. You see; I was waiting for _someone_ to get here."

The visitor merely smiled and took a seat on the bench, crossing her hands across her lap.

They fell into a comfortable silence. Both girls stared straight ahead, a soft, sad smile on their lips, watching as the sun slowly began to rise, bringing light to the world around them.

In the illumination of the sun, the striking similarities between the two became apparent. It was almost as if they were twins. They shared the same long black hair, styled the same way – in light curls cascading down their backs – and the same piercing eyes. Their mannerisms were different, one was kind-hearted and outspoken, the other rude and arrogant. Yet, they accompanied each other perfectly.

As the sun rose higher into the sky, people began to appear. Most were earlier risers, up for their morning jogs through the park; somewhere late night partiers, finally heading home. The once quiet atmosphere was filled with the bustle of busy people.

"Taylor."

Taylor turned her head to face the girl who had spoken, a sudden pang of sadness striking her, knowing it would be the last time they were together sitting on that bench. "Yeah?"

"Do you really want to go back _there_?" There was such contempt in the way she spoke.

"I do."

"Why do you want to? What is so special about Mystic Falls?"

Taylor thought for a second. "It's my home. I grew up there and the people I care for are there."

Her words angered the other girl. Her body tensed and she spoke with a harsh tone. "The people who _care_ for you? Taylor, they _lied_ to you all those years. How can you possibly believe they care about you at all?"

It would have been easy to get upset at her words, but they'd had that conversation many times, and she was prepared. Instead of blowing up, Taylor simply shook her head. "Don't go there, please. You know how I feel."

"I may know, but I don't pretend to understand."

That was such a typical reply, Taylor thought as she stood up, the letter folded and held in her hands. She reached up with her right hand a tucked a few loose strands behind her ear, just as a gust of wind swept past them. She fixed the skirt she was wearing and stood up straight, the same sad smile on her face.

"We should get going."

Reluctantly, the other girl nodded her head in agreement and stood up as well. She reached out her hand for Taylor to grab, and she did so. The two walked away from the bench for the last time, headed to the car that would get them to their destination.

* * *

By the time they reached Mystic Falls, Taylor's nerves had begun to get the better of her. She wondered if she was doing the right thing. Coming back after a year of being away, was that fair? After cutting her self off completely from her family and friends, she didn't know how they would react, she could only guess.

"I'm scared," Taylor voiced, filling the empty car with the sound of her soft voice. "This feels bad."

A laugh erupted. "How many times have we spoken about this?"

"A lot."

"Exactly. There's nothing to be afraid of. You _are_ powerful enough to handle anything that comes your way."

Taylor shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose so."

"You're still worried."

She nodded her head, looking out the window into the darkness. The sun had fallen hours ago. "I mean, Aunt Jenna said it was fine, but I'm not sure what Elena and Jeremy will think. I left without notice. I couldn't even give Elena the letter. They had no clue why I left and Jenna probably hasn't told them I'm coming home, either."

"I don't like them, Taylor. You _know_ that. But if they love you as much as you love them, you have nothing to worry about." There was a tone in her voice that said something more to Taylor, something she could catch only because she knew her that well.

"Katherine. I can't do that."

"Do what," she questioned, turning her head to look at the girl in the passenger seat.

"I won't compel them."

The car came to a slow stop and Taylor realized that they were there. She was _home_. After a year of being away and months of anxiousness, she felt at ease and at peace. All of her earlier worries were stifled. Inside she could sense her sister's presence. Turning, she smiled one last time at Katherine, flooded with memories.

"Thank you, Katherine. For everything."

"Don't."

Taylor gave her a confused look.

"Don't get all sappy on me."

She smiled, reaching over and pulling her into one last hug. This was the girl she had seen every night for as long as she could remember; she was the reason Taylor left in the first place. And she was the very one who was able to befriend her and help her become whole again. Katherine was nothing like what she had expected. Although she was rough and harsh, she could be kind and Taylor had gotten closer to her than she had been to her adopted mother. It was hard to walk away from her. It was like walking away from a sister and she knew all too well how hard that hurt.

"I won't. Good bye, Katherine."

"Good bye, Taylor. We will see each other some day."

Taylor smiled, wiping away the few tears that spilled out despite her struggle to keep them back. She opened the car door and stepped out, taking one last glance at the girl she knew she wouldn't see for a long, long time.

In the seconds it took for her to reach the door, she heard the screeching of the tires against the pavement. She was gone.

Taylor reached out and rang the doorbell, waiting impatiently for someone to answer. When Jenna appeared, a wave of relief flushed over her. She'd prepared a long explanation of why she had left in case it had been Elena or Jeremy to answer. Now she could wait until later to deliver it.

"Taylor! You came back!"

The young girl smiled as her aunt pulled her into a hug. "Of course, Jenna. I said I would. Can I come in?"

"Of course!"

Taylor nodded her head, stepping into the house she had missed while she was gone. Everything was the same, the furniture hadn't changed and there was nothing new. But she could feel the emptiness of her parents – _adopted_ parents – death.

"You arrived so late. I was just about to head off to bed. Elena is in the living room with her boyfriend and his brother. I can stay up if you –"

"It's okay. You can go to sleep. I'll just go say hi."

Jenna nodded, pulling the girl into one last hug before she disappeared up the stairs.

With a deep breath, Taylor turned and walked slowly into the living room. Elena, who looked exactly the same as she had left, only happier looking, was in mid conversation with one of the two boys.

"I know you're hurting –" she started.

"I'm not." The older of the two shook his head.

"You miss her," she argued.

"Elena, there's someone here." The younger of the two brothers shifted the attention in the room to her.

Elena turned her head, curious as to whom it could be. A gasp escaped her lips as her eyes landed on her sister. Instantly she sprung up and rushed over, pulling her into a tight hug that Taylor happily accepted. The thousands of questions that sprung up in her mind where pushed to the back of her thoughts, she was so happy to see her sister again.

"Taylor, you're back!" Elena cried, tears falling from her eyes.

Her sister nodded her head, wiping away her own tears. "Yeah. I missed you guys too much." Taylor smiled, pulling her sister in for another hug.

_It felt so good to be home._

"So, who are the boys?" She asked, once the two had managed to get their tears under control.

"Oh! This is Stefan, my boyfriend. And this is his brother - "

"Damon," Taylor interrupted. "Stefan and Damon Salvatore."

Elena stared at her sister shocked. Stefan and Damon had finally decided to pay more attention to the girl and that was when they noticed how much she and Elena looked alike, or rather she and Katherine. But there was something different. Something more like Katherine about her and, yet, at the same time something so different.

"Taylor? How did you know who they were?"

Taylor wanted to slap herself. How did she not recognize them earlier? Katherine had described them so perfectly that she knew every little detail; she'd seen pictures, too. Yet, something about being home had warped her observation skills and she was left standing there, shocked. Damon and Stefan Salvatore. Never would she have thought she'd meet them in Mystic Falls. With her sister, of all people, whom she knew first hand looked like Katherine. She wasn't one to speak; she looked like her as well.

"I know because - "

"Where did you get that," Damon asked.

Taylor looked around, confused. "Get what?"

"That," he demanded, pointing to her neck. His anger was rising. He _recognized _that necklace. He'd seen it many times.

She looked down to where Damon and Stefan were staring. It was Katherine's necklace.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I, unfortunately, do not own the Vampire Diaries. I only own Taylor Gilbert and any other original characters that I come up with along the way.


	2. Chapter 2: Frustration and familiarity

Chapter 2: _Frustration and familiarity_

* * *

"Where did you get that," Damon asked, the anger in his voice raising.

Taylor eyed him with irritation. If he turned out to be anything like what Katherine had told her, he would be a pain in her ass. She'd told her he was devoted to her and could be fiercely loyal and fun, balanced out with his short temper. From what she'd already gathered, he _was_ short tempered.

She crossed her arms across her chest and glared at the boy in front of her. He was beginning to turn into a pain, though she did understand why he wanted to know. "You're asking me, so you obviously know the answer."

Elena shifted, sending a wary glance to Stefan. She knew how Damon was, more than her sister, and she was afraid he would attack her. Usually her sister was kind and didn't normally get defensive like that. Maybe that year apart had really changed her. Whatever the reason, Taylor was acting differently and Elena was afraid that Damon would hurt her because of that.

Thankfully, Jenna and Jeremy were upstairs. That was one less thing to worry about.

Reaching out, Elena placed a hand lightly on the younger Salvatore's arm. Shifting his glance from his brother, Stefan turned to Elena, his gaze softening. "Don't worry," he whispered. "I won't let him hurt her."

He watched Damon closely, ready to intervene if necessary. Elena's worry calmed slightly, knowing he was watching, though that anxious feeling in her stomach remained.

Damon couldn't believe it. Staring straight into Taylor's eyes, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. This girl looked so much like Katherine. Elena did too, but there was something different about her. There was just something so familiar about her. It was that familiar feeling he got whenever he thought about Katherine. And dangling from her neck was Katherine's necklace. The very necklace he had etched into his mind. Just like every detail about Katherine that was kept in the safety of his memories.

He allowed his face to show the anger and irritation he felt. In a jolt of speed, he had his hand enclosed around her neck, pressing her against the wall, a smirk plastering itself on his face at her widened eyes.

"_Where did you get that necklace?_"

Taylor reached her hands up and tried to pry his hands off. Despite her strength, he was stronger. For a couple days she hadn't gotten anything to fill her hunger. She had been too anxious about her return. Now she was regretting that decision. But she wasn't afraid of Damon. He wouldn't kill her, if only for the reason that she looked like Katherine. And Taylor knew she was the only connection he had to her.

Irritated that she hadn't answered him, Damon pulled her away and slammed her against the wall once more, tightening his grip on her throat. Instinctively, Taylor grabbed at his arm, trying to push it away. God, she _hated_ it when she was weak. Almost as much as she hated Damon at that moment.

"Damon."

"Oh, hush little brother."

"Damon, stop," Elena cried. Her eyes flickered to the stairs, checking if anyone had woken up. "You're hurting her."

"I'm not going to kill her." Damon rolled his eyes, as if that simple statement was supposed to make what he was doing justifiable.

"Let her go. You're just upset because she has Katherine's necklace," Stefan argued, trying to persuade his brother to release the girl.

"Bravo, Stefan," Damon cheered, tearing his attention away from Taylor, though he kept his grip on her neck. "Trying out your little mind games. Like you're not curious to find out why _she_ has it?"

"Of course I am."

"But, let me guess, _this isn't the way to go about finding out_, is it?" He asked, mocking his brother.

Taking the opportunity of the sudden distraction, Taylor quickly raised her foot, hitting him right between the legs. With a grunt, he released the grip he had on her neck and she quickly scrambled off to the side, gasping for the air he had deprived her of. Sweet satisfaction rushed through her at the sight of him hunched over in pain.

"Taylor!"

Elena rushed over to the girl, worry written all over her face. "Are you okay? Do you need water? Do you want to sit down?"

The girl shook her head, laughing. "I'm _fine_, don't worry."

Elena smiled, relieved.

It was obvious that she knew what the Salvatore brother's were. She wouldn't have reacted so much if she had no clue. Taylor wondered how she'd react when she heard everything she had to say.

"You better leave," Stefan voiced, grabbing his brother's shoulder to force him out.

The older Salvatore shrugged his brother's grip off, a smirk plastered on his face. Oh, how he loved to cause his brother trouble. "Just remember, little brother, I've been invited in."

"_Damon_," Stefan warned.

Taylor watched the scene before her curiously, feeling the anger seething from the three people in the room. Elena at Damon; Stefan at Damon; and Damon at her. She wasn't angry, per se, more irritated than anything. And she would have plenty of time to get back at the older Salvatore for that. She was sure _he_ would come to her.

There was one thing she did notice: Katherine had been right; there most definitely _was_ a rivalry between the two. And she was the cause of it.

Over the year they'd spent together, Taylor had learned almost everything there was to know about Katherine - that's not to say things started out so smoothly with a friendship. The first time the two actually met, Katherine tried to kill her. The only thing that registered in her mind was that Taylor looked like her and that was not something good.

It was in Chicago, in mid August, as Taylor walked through the crowded streets under the dark cover of night. She didn't know it at first, but there was someone following her. It wasn't until the crowds began to thin out that she could hear the faint _click_ of shoes echoing in the silence. And they weren't hers. Naturally, she was frightened. She quickened her pace, searching for any sign of a crowd that could protect her. There were none. It was as if her follower knew exactly where to lead her and every turn she would take.

Taylor ran, and that was when Katherine sprinted after her, appearing right in her path seemingly out of thin air. She had been startled at seeing someone who wasn't there a second ago, but what scared her was the fact that she had found the person she'd been looking for. Rather, the girl had found her.

"_Katherine…?"_ she had asked.

The girl only smiled in response, but it was a sadistic smile and Taylor knew she was in trouble. With one last effort, she turned on her heels and tried to run from the very person she had been searching for. But she was no vampire. There was no way she could out run her. And she couldn't. She felt teeth sinking into her skin before she felt the arms around her.

Taylor had survived only because Katherine had been curious.

They were complete opposites: Katherine was cold, she was strong, she could be so wicked where as Taylor was sweet and outspoken, but weak. Yet, as the time went on, the spent so much time together that it was as if they had known each other for years. It wasn't long before Taylor grew to like Katherine's personality, her strength. And she too started to behave the same way. It all became instinctive.

"Shame," Taylor stated with a soft smirk rising at the corner of her mouth. She stretched her arms above her head, Katherine's necklace dangling against her neck, letting her arms fall to her side slowly.

All eyes had turned to her. Elena gave her a confused glance, but Taylor knew the Salvatore brothers were anxious. They had no clue who she was or how she knew Katherine. She guessed that they were racking their brains trying to figure it out. But she wasn't one who was easily figured out. Not anymore.

"The Salvatore rivalry lives on."

Damon narrowed his eyes and she could read exactly what he wanted to say, _how would you know about the 'Salvatore rivalry'_.

"Oh, don't give me that look," Taylor said lightly, edging to the door slowly as she spoke. "You know exactly how I know about you."

"Taylor," Stefan called, aware of her movements and how she seemed to be backing away. "How _do_ you know about us?"

With curiosity, Damon watched as her face flashed with irritation. This Katherine-look-alike even _acted_ like her, at least in the smallest of ways. It was hard to remind himself that she _wasn't_ Katherine. They looked alike and she crinkled her eyes brows together whenever she was frustrated, just like Katherine. It was like seeing her again for the first time in centuries.

"You know, Stefan. Katherine. _Katherine_ is how I know about you. Katherine told me _all_ about you two." The irritation was laced in her words so heavily; it was easy to see it in the way she spoke.

"Where were you that whole time you were gone, Tay?"

Taylor shifted her attention to Elena, taking a few more steps back. "With Katherine," she answered; as if it cleared all the questions they had running through their minds.

"What happened to you?"

"I changed."

As she finally took the last steps to the door, she reached out and opened it, the gust of cold air sweeping around her. Her eyes scanned the open area. No one was out. There didn't seem to be any signs of people awake anywhere.

Elena stepped forward, but Stefan stopped her.

Taylor smiled softly. He knew.

"Stefan…?" Elena's gaze drifted to her boyfriend who held her back protectively. She didn't understand. It was only Taylor, her sister. When her eyes made their way back to her, she was already standing outside, a strange smile on her face. "Where are you going, Taylor?"

Letting the smile fade from her lips, Taylor turned to face her sister. "Out. I'm _hungry_."

Without another word, she raced off, disappearing so quickly it was like she had never been there before. Elena rushed to the doorframe, a confused look on her face. "She's gone," she cried. There was no way she could have disappeared from view that fast. The only way would be if she were… _no_.

Damon, having watched the exchange with a curious glint in his eyes, stepped forward, walking past Elena and out of the house. "Until another time, Elena."

"Damon, where are you going?"

Damon stopped; turning to face Stefan and Elena who both wore similar looks of concern. "Don't you worry you're little heads."

Stefan took a step forward. "Leave her alone."

"I'll do whatever I want, little brother. And I think I'll go and have a talk with a certain vampire we've just met."

* * *

**A**nother chapter. Thank you for everyone who is reviewing and those of you who are adding this story to your favorite and story alert list.

I remind you that I only know these characters based off of what I've seen in the television series. So bare with me if they're a little out of character. I will try my best.

- .


	3. Chapter 3: Keep it Cool

Chapter 3: _Keep It Cool_

Under the cover of the night sky, it was hard for Damon to recognize Taylor as she stepped out of Mystic Grill, a boy trailing behind her. Her slim figure walked towards the last car in the empty parking lot, holding his hand and dragging him along at a slow pace. It was when she turned to face the boy that Damon recognized her and stopped walking.

The boy Taylor had chosen to make a mid–night snack out of was tall, around 5'9", with dark black hair and bright green eyes. He was simple looking, not too muscular, but not scrawny either. Alex was his name, or something like that. She'd already forgotten.

Alex bent down to kiss her, and if it hadn't been for the familiarity she felt when she looked at his face, she would have ripped his throat out.

Taylor pulled away, wearing a smirk on her face that sent shivers down Damon's back, and lightly trailed kisses down his neck. She could feel the hunger in her growing stronger. With each centimeter she went down, the need grew stronger and stronger until she couldn't handle it anymore.

Her teeth sunk into his neck, earning a pain filled grunt from the boy. Her hand clasped itself around his mouth, her other arm supporting him. She _would_ get her fill; then he would be let go. The blood rushed through her veins; filling her with the satisfaction she loved so much.

When her hunger subsided, she tore her lips from his neck, wiping away a trail of blood from her lips.

"So lucky," she cooed, cleaning the blood from his neck. She gazed up at him almost affectionately. "You look so much like Jace. If not, you'd be dead."

Alex stared at her, fear in his eyes. "Y-you – "

Taylor silenced him, raising her finger to his lips. Her unusual kindness bestowed on him. "Don't talk. This never happened," she stated, staring him directly in his vibrant green eyes. "You came out here to get in your car and go home. You don't know me."

He nodded his head. "I'm going home."

The girl released her grip on the boy and watched as he dutifully got in his car and drove off, leaving her and Damon alone in the parking lot.

The echo of Damon's footsteps reached her ears before he spoke. "What a nasty little vampire you are."

She could hear the smirk in his voice, even before she turned to face him. It was no surprise that he was there. Taylor knew he would follow her the second she left home. The moment she left Mystic Grill with Alex trailing behind her she could already feel his presence. Besides, she knew Damon Salvatore was filled with a curiosity that couldn't be quenched. It would get him killed one day, if he wasn't careful.

"As if _you're_ one to speak?"

Taylor wore a smirk of her own. With her arms crossed across her chest, she waited for his answer. But it never came.

He remained silent, studying the girl before him. She was so similar to Katherine. The way she acted, the way she spoke. She carried that tone in her voice that said she _wasn't_ one to be messed with, yet she looked much more fragile than Katherine had ever looked. But there was something different, too. A lot different. She was gentler with the ones she cared about, it seemed. And she had an attitude toward him that Katherine had never had, one of contempt.

"What do you want, Damon?"

"I want a lot of things," he said. "I want to eat, I want to kill something right now. I want _Katherine_."

A sharp laugh escaped her lips. "And I'm supposed to be the one to lead you her, is that it?"

Damon shot a glare her way. He was not joking in the least and she was beginning to irritate him. Again. "Exactly."

"Well, then you've come to the wrong person."

Taylor unfolded her arms, letting her eyes wander around her, searching for nothing in particular. "I'm not going to help you," she informed him.

"Why is that, little one?" Damon asked, managing to mask his quickly growing angered state, though it was hard. He wanted nothing more than to _kill_ her. But that would leave him with no clues.

"Think about it. If Katherine wanted to find you, she would have."

Without even so much as a glare, Damon reached forward and grabbed her neck, squeezing tighter than he had before at her house. The flow of oxygen ceased and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Watch what you say, _Taylor_. I could kill you if I wanted."

This time, Taylor could stand up for herself. She knew she looked weak with her tiny build and porcelain looking features, but she was far from it. And she had Katherine to thank for that. In that one year spent with her, Taylor learned how to defend herself more than she would have thought possible. She had become the predator instead of the prey.

She reached her hand up and grabbed Damon's, tearing it away from her throat with as much ease as if she were ripping apart a feather.

"No," she commanded, a glare taking over the smirk she had previously worn. "_You_ watch what you say because _I_ could kill you if I wanted."

_And I almost want to,_ she thought, pushing his arm away from her with enough force to send him stumbling a few steps back. She turned on her heels, walking away from Damon, headed anywhere but there. She couldn't take it any more. A few more remarks from the older boy and she would snap.

"With an attitude like that," Damon called out after her, a smirk back on his features, even though he was shocked at her actions. "No wonder he left."

His words hit her ears and Taylor stopped dead in her tracks. "_What_?"

"Jace, was it? I assume _he_ left _you_?"

With a snarl she turned to face him, her face contorted into a harsh glare.

"Watch it, Salvatore," she hissed.

"Ah," Damon nodded his head, feigning understanding. "Touchy subject?"

Faster than anything seeable through a human's eye, Taylor launched herself at Damon, knocking him over and landing on top of him on the floor. He hit the floor with a loud _thump_ and she hoped she'd broken something and she was pretty sure she had. She squatted above him, one knee rested on the pavement, the other bent. Furiously, she clamped her hand around his throat, tempted to keep squeezing until she broke his neck.

"I told you to watch it," she growled.

Damon's eyes widened. Yes, he knew she acted like Katherine, but in a way she could be even more threatening than her. Katherine was never so rash to act and if she did, it was for the kill. She hardly ever kept her prey alive for more than a few minutes. But there was something else that caught Damon's attention, peaking his curiosity about the girl. Taylor held a hint of… _sadness_ in her eyes. This Jace – whoever he was – was someone she really cared for. And something had happened to make her behave that way. It almost made him feel bad – _almost_.

He was pressed against the hard pavement and he was pretty sure something had cracked when he landed. It felt like a rib – or maybe two. Damon Salvatore was officially pissed off. He couldn't give a damn about Taylor.

"Don't ever bring him up again. You don't know _anything_ about him!"

He couldn't talk; she held a tight grip around his throat. Instead, he regained his composure, his anger still seething, and rolled his eyes. He'd hit his mark, as Taylor seemed to glare even harder at him and squeeze just a little tighter.

She felt like killing him. Then and there, just get it over with. It wasn't like anyone wanted him around. His brother probably hated him. _She_ hated him. Katherine didn't give a damn about him.

"I could kill you now," she said, toying with him. Leaning in closer, she added, "It's not like anyone's gonna miss you."

Her statement fueled the fire in Damon's anger and he grabbed her wrist, managing to pry her off of him with struggle (which shocked him, he being used to Stefan's weaker powers).

Taylor fought against him, but in the end his strength was just as strong as hers and he managed to push her off. She fell back, landing on her butt, an emotionless look plastered on her face.

"Funny," he stated, even though he didn't find it funny in the least. Damon stood up and dusted his clothes off, grabbing the side of his ribcage as it pulsed with pain. _God_, she'd gotten him good. "No one will miss me? Like how Jace doesn't miss you?"

Springing up to her feet, she was so tempted to throw all of her cautions out the window. She promised herself she wouldn't cause trouble for Elena and the rest of her family. That's why Katherine had left. The two knew that if they stayed together, the town of Mystic Falls would never be peaceful again. But Damon was making it awful tempting to let loose. And maybe that's what he wanted. He _wanted_ her to go crazy. Maybe he thought it would get her to lead him to Katherine.

He was wrong.

Despite the aching need she had to rip him to pieces, Taylor turned around and started walking in the direction of her house, where she was sure the younger Salvatore was waiting.

"Scared?" he called after her.

Taylor ignored him.

She glared at the road ahead of her and kept walking, leaving a very confused Damon in her tracks; all the while thinking: _I am _not_ scared, but _you_ should be._

_

* * *

_**H**ey everyone! Another update out filled with a whole bunch of questions to be answered! Thank you to all of you who reviewed, favorited, and story alerted! If you review, answer these questions, I love hearing what you have to say:

Who do _you_ think "Jace" is?  
Where do you think Katherine went?  
What do you think Damon will do next? What do you think Taylor will do?


	4. Chapter 4: Backbone

Chapter 4: _Backbone_

Taylor tossed in bed, flipping onto her right side. She squeezed her eyes tighter in the hopes that it would somehow force her to fall back asleep.

"Get out."

She'd had a rotten night. Sleep had evaded her and every time she was even close to drifting off, she thought of Damon and what he had said. It was hard not to. Apparently, Stefan had decided to call Damon – because she knew it _wouldn't_ be the other way around – and found out exactly what had happened. So, when she got home he was waiting there with Elena to question her; which she hadn't taken to very well.

The second Elena asked her who Jace was, the anger that exploded within her was almost too strong to contain. It wasn't her right to know and, if she was to find out about him it was supposed to be from _her_, not the Salvatores. After sending her sister the fiercest glare she could muster, she had marched up to her room and slammed the door shut. It took all her power to keep herself in check.

Taylor could hear him walking around, even though he didn't answer.

"I said get _out_."

Still no reply.

Irritated, the young girl threw her sheets over her head and tried to pretend he wasn't there.

"Now that's no way to treat a guest."

"Who said you were a guest? Now get the hell out of here!"

Hiding under the darkness of her blankets, Taylor was finding it increasingly hard to control her emotions around the older Salvatore. And, even though she suspected it was all a part of his mind games, she could do nothing about it.

The door creaked open and the sound echoed through her head as loud as the slamming of doors.

"Get _out_!" She screamed.

There was a jump and the clearing of a throat.

"Sorry, Taylor. Elena told me to come up and check on you… I didn't mean to upset you."

Taylor popped her head out of her sheets, surprised to see that Damon had disappeared. The last thing she had expected was for him to listen to her when she said to leave. Not to mention it was _Stefan_ checking up on her and not Elena. Although she was pretty sure he had insisted.

He still didn't trust her completely.

"Don't be, Stefan," she said. Her earlier anger toward him had faded, being directed at Damon who seemed to _want_ to get on her nerves. She was in no mood to be angry. "I thought you were someone else."

"Damon?"

She nodded her head.

"Was he here?"

Taylor looked cautiously at Stefan, who was leaning against the door-frame, a look of worry on his face. If she told him the truth, he'd probably go off after his brother. And, she wasn't sure, but it would somehow end up coming back to bite her in the butt. Then again, if it caused him trouble, she didn't really care.

"Yeah, he was. I told him to leave though."

"And he listened?" Stefan questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Taylor shrugged, getting out of bed and walking towards him. "I don't know why either."

The conversation ended and the two descended the stairs in silence. At the bottom, Taylor could hear Elena in the kitchen.

"Mm," Taylor mumbled, earning a strange glance from Stefan. She laughed; earning yet another curious glance. "It smells good."

With that, the girl quickened her pace and followed the scent into the kitchen. What she spotted when she got in there was a bit of a surprise. Not only was Elena there, _Damon_ was too. The boy seriously didn't understand the concept of her telling him to get _out_. She wasn't the only one surprised either, Stefan was too. She could tell by the way his body tensed and that worried look resurfaced to his face again.

"Usually when someone tells you to get out, you leave. Not go into their kitchen."

She smiled as the words left her lips, earning a worried glance from Elena, but none from Damon. He ignored her. Taylor simply shrugged her shoulders. There was something up with him, but she couldn't careless about it. Whatever was bothering him was his fault and he deserved it.

"Good morning, Taylor," Elena called, attempting to ease the tension in the room. "How did you sleep?"

The girl sighed, "Horrible. And we have _someone_ to thank for that."

In the silence that ensued, she plopped herself down into a seat at the counter and leaned her head against the cool granite.

"Hey Elena," a voice called from behind her. It was familiar to her and her head shot up. "I'm going out, I'll be back later."

A slow smile spread across her face.

"Okay but don't – "

Taylor jumped off the chair, interrupting Elena mid-sentence. "Jer!"

As quickly as she could without seeming unnatural, she rushed over and pulled him into a tight hug. God, she had missed him so much. She had missed them all so much while she was gone.

"_Tay_," he asked, shocked to see his sister again. His arms finally wrapped themselves around her waist when realization struck him.

She pulled away, the tears threatening to fall. "In the flesh."

A smile of his own brightened his features. "When did you get back? Where did you go? What did you _do_?"

Smiling, Taylor realized it was the same questions she'd been asked the night before when she exploded on Stefan and her sister. She could feel the tension emanating from them both, but – yet again – nothing from Damon. Knowing that backing off would put them at ease she stepped back a few steps.

"Yesterday, Chicago, stuff."

Jeremy smiled at the extremely vague answers he got from her. If he knew his sister, she would end up telling him anyway. There were always close.

"Right," he said, rolling his eyes. "How specific."

Taylor laughed. Same old Jeremy.

"So," she started, her face mocking seriousness. She was well aware of the three pairs of eyes watching them. "Where exactly _are _you going?"

"To the library."

Jeremy walked towards the cabinets, pulling out some kind of energy bar: his source of breakfast. She would comment on that later. She was more shocked at his destination.

"The library? Since when do you go to the library?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders. Not it was _Taylor's_ turn to be concerned.

"I don't know. I have some homework I have to get done."

Again, she was flabbergasted. She walked over to him and gently placed her hand on his forehead. "No fever."

She grabbed his wrist, pressing her thumb to his vein while her eyes watched the clock. "Normal."

Her brother laughed, pulling his hand away and taking a bite out of his bar. "Nothings wrong with me. I'll be back later and I expect to hear stories!"

Jeremy walked out of the kitchen. Seconds later there was the sound of a door shutting and Taylor turned on her heels to face the two Salvatore brothers who had remained silent the entire time.

"Is Jenna home," she asked Elena.

Her sister shook her head. "No, she left already."

Taylor nodded her head. "Which one of you did it?" They could tell she was upset.

"Did what?" Stefan questioned.

A small growl escaped her lips. "Which one of you _compelled_ him?"

Shock crossed their faces.

Elena stepped forward, reaching out to put a hand on her sister's shoulder. She knew it was going to be hard to explain. "A lot happened when you were gone, Tay."

Taylor glanced at her sister with a mixture of shock and disgust. "And that's supposed to make it okay?"

"He saw things that he shouldn't have. It would have made him even worse."

"That's your justification?" She asked, incredulous.

Taylor backed away, letting Elena's hand slip off her shoulder. "That's supposed to make it okay? He's not who he was, Elena. You can't compel a person like that."

"Taylor," Stefan began, trying to reason with her. "If we hadn't done it, he would be miserable."

Another growl escaped her lips. Who was he to talk? Even Damon hadn't spoken – something she was grateful for.

"How do _you_ know? Did you grow up with Jeremy? Do you know how strong he can be?"

Stefan stayed silent. The slightest hint of a smirk started to appear on Damon's face and Elena was starting at her with such guilt that she _knew_ she was right.

"Exactly. And let me tell you, he _is_ strong. What ever you compelled him to do or to be, he's going to break out of it."

"He won't be able to," Damon argued, finally breaking out of his silence.

"And why is that," Taylor questioned angrily.

"Because I was the one to compel him, not Stefan."

Her eyes flashed with anger and she rushed forward, pushing him back into the granite counter. She held him down with her hand clasped around his neck and her free hand grabbed the nearest object: a knife. Taylor held the knife to his heart, feeling the adrenaline rush through her.

"Taylor!"

She ignored her sister.

"Taylor, stop," Stefan demanded.

"Why should I? He doesn't care about anyone's life. He does things he shouldn't. He's an _ass_. All he cares about is him. He's selfish. People like him don't deserve to be alive. Not after the things they do!"

She felt a grip on her arm and the sound of Stefan's voice saying, "Taylor, don't do it. You know you don't want to."

Those few words sent chills down her back, leaving an aching in the pit of her stomach.

Taylor released her grip on Damon's neck and stepped back. He propped himself up, rubbing at his neck where there was the faintest red line around it. He portrayed no signs of shock or fear. He was an emotionless look.

"I have no clue how Katherine could stand you. You don't have the guts to do it."

Elena cringed, as did Stefan. Damon was being an idiot.

Taylor glared at the older Salvatore, quickly plunging the knife forward.

"Don't _ever_ say I didn't have the guts to do it."

* * *

**I** got another chapter out, finally, I know. I'm so sorry that it's been a while since I last updated. (See I had this plan to update every three days or so, but... that didn't work out as you can see). I got busy and there were things preventing me from posting this, so I apologize greatly! But, I hope that this chapter made up for the long absence. It seems kind of short, but it builds the tension and I _promise _that there is a point to Damon's uncharacteristic behavior.

So, some questions to answer in your lovely reviews:

What's up with Damon's behavior and why is he acting that way?  
Is Taylor going to be able to put up with him?

And some questions about the overall story:

Do you like where the story is going?  
Is there anything else you'd rather see? More dialogue? Less dialogue?  
How is the pace of the story?

Thank you readers!


	5. Chapter 5: Admit It

Chapter 5: Admit it

* * *

This, Taylor thought, was ridiculous. Not just the fact that she hadn't moved since the morning and that the sun had already completely disappeared from the sky, or that she could feel the multiple pairs of eyes watching her, as they had been for hours – but all of it.

Yes, she had been wrong to act so harshly, that she admitted, and – had it been her own fault – she would have dealt with the consequences. No matter how exaggerated they might be. But that wasn't the case. Damon had been the one to push her over the edge, something he had been well aware of when he spoke. Yet, it seemed to her as if Stefan and Elena were only focusing on what _she_ managed to do wrong, rather than what _Damon_ had done.

"This is stupid." She sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"You know. This: me sitting here and you not letting me go."

Stefan cleared his throat. "Taylor we can't just let you go walking around town." _Because we don't trust you_, he might as well have added.

Taylor pulled her head up, off the no longer cold tabletop. "Yet Damon is walking free."

"You know that's different," he argued.

She stood, turning to finally face the couple lounging on the large black sofa. The living room was bare, cleaned almost spotless in the hours the three had spent indoors. Elena was sitting close to Stefan; her legs folded and propped up on the couch, a look of worry on her face. The same look manifested on Stefan's face.

"_Different_?"

Stefan leaned slightly forward, aware of what his words meant to her. "Taylor, you know I didn't mean it."

"I know exactly what you meant, Stefan."

Taylor sent a glare his way and rushed out of the house, pushing past Stefan as he tried to stop her and slamming the door shut in her wake. How was there a difference, she thought. Damon Salvatore was as much to blame as she, if not more so. Stefan, being his brother, should have known it; he _did_ know it, Taylor knew that much about him. It was his refusal to admit it that surprised her. The older Salvatore was anything but a good person. He may have been one once in his life, but that was a long, long time ago. Things change; _people_ change. He had changed into an evil idiot. Yet, she could sense something deep inside Stefan that – for reasons she could not fathom – believed he was good deep down inside; he saw something in Damon's eyes that she did not. All she saw when she looked into them were stupidity and arrogance.

The air was cold around her and the night was engulfing with the far–stretching blackness and the deafening silence. For the first time since she arrived, she was alone. It was no surprise when she realized she'd ended up at the old park she used to play at with Elena. She seemed to gravitate toward parks of any kind. It had something to do with the way it was so calm and so relaxing; the way nothing bad ever really happened there. And she needed relaxing.

Taylor's phone rang, erupting in the night with a loud ringing. Glancing around at the dark of night, she knew there was only one person who would be calling her.

"Hey."

"Taylor."

She didn't have to say much. Taylor had a way of knowing when something was on Katherine's mind; it came with spending the year with her. Katherine was never a very… emotional person and not very talkative about what she feeling, either. If you wanted to know what she felt, you had to be pretty intuitive.

"I'm fine."

"I didn't say anything," she argued, in the calm way that she did.

Taylor sighed. "You wouldn't be calling if you didn't think something was wrong."

It was Katherine's turn to sigh. "Something's happening there."

It was more of a statement than a question. Still, she answered. "Yeah. Things aren't going as smoothly as I planned."

"I told you they're a bunch of idiots."

With everything going on, the last thing Taylor needed was to deal with the hatred Katherine had manifested towards her family. "Not now. I'm not in the mood."

"Fine, fine." She rebutted. "What's really happening?"

"It's just hard… With Elena and everything. She knows what I am and it just – I don't know how to explain it. I'm just _really_ pissed off."

Katherine didn't say anything; she knew it would be better not to.

"So where are you right now?"

"I'm in Chicago again."

Taylor was surprised to hear that. She'd expected her to go off to another country. "Chicago_?_ Again_?_"

There was a laugh. "Yes."

"I never would have guessed you'd go back there. You always struck me as a 'gotta–keep– moving' kind of person."

Katherine laughed; it was a nervous laugh – at least as nervous as she could get.

That was weird, Taylor thought. Not once in her time with Katherine had she heard her laugh in such a way. She'd laughed to laugh, laugh because she thought something was pathetic, but nervousness? Never.

The sound of a door crashing came through, followed by a sigh.

"I have to go, Taylor."

"Uh, bye? Look, be careful with whatever you're doing…"

"Yup, okay."

Taylor pulled the phone from her ear and tossed it in her bag, amazed at the conversation she'd just had. At the end… It was hard to tell if it had been Katherine doing the crashing, or someone else, though she liked to imagine it to be Katherine. Although the two had only known each other for a year, the bond they shared was something entirely different. If something were to happen to her, Taylor wasn't sure how she would handle it.

Now she was worried – and she probably would be for a while. Great, she thought, just what she needed: _another_ thing on her mind.

Without so much as a glance at her surroundings, Taylor set off running back home – although it was the last place she really wanted to be. She headed straight up the stairs and into her room, ignoring the stairs of her brother and sister, and the worried look on Jenna's face.

"Ugh," she screamed, plopping onto her bed, staring at the ceiling.

There was too much! When she considered coming back to Mystic Falls, she didn't think there would be so much drama waiting for her. She was a _vampire_ now, the Salvatore brothers had managed to appear and, oh, one of them was dating Elena. Definitely not what she had been expecting. Not to mention the fact that the other brother was a complete ass who seemed to only want to get on her nerves (which was working, though she would try hard not to show it around him).

There was a soft knock at the door. "Taylor. I need to talk to you."

"What is it?" She propped herself up on her elbows, staring at the locked door as if she could see through it.

"It's about school."

_Ah, school_. "I don't need to go, Jenna. It's been taken cared of."

"That's what I want to talk to you about."

Taylor made a big scene of sighing loudly before walking over and opening the door, allowing Jenna to walk in and take a seat on her bed next to her. Jenna crossed her legs and smiled softly at her niece, trying to come off as the sweet aunt that was only trying to help.

"What's up," Taylor asked, hoping the conversation would end sooner than later. "I was kind of hoping to get some sleep."

Jenna shook her head. "I got a call from school today. They said you didn't need to attend anymore. How are you already graduated, Taylor? It doesn't make sense."

"I graduated while I was in Chicago."

"In Chicago?"

"Yep."

"How is that possible?"

"It just is." She sighed, standing up and stretching her hands above her head. Reaching into her drawer, she pulled out an old cut up Beatles shirt, a pair of hot pink boxer shorts, and her underwear. "I really want to shower, Jenna, and get some sleep."

Jenna's voice rose slightly, commanding, "Wait." It was the first time Taylor could remember her speaking in such a way. "You're telling me you completed your senior year in Chicago?"

Again, the young teen sighed. She hated to be so rude to the ones she loved, but with everything going on with Damon and the others, she was in no mood to be a people pleaser. "Yes, Jenna. The school I went to in Chicago let me skip a grade and I finished my senior year when Elena was finishing her junior year."

_Lies_.

The skepticism in her eyes betrayed everything she tried to hide. Jenna did not believe Taylor; that much was clear. Yet, she said nothing and left instead, leaving the young girl to herself in the silence of her room. Taking no chances in being caught off guard, she jumped into her bathroom, taking a quick shower.

"Are you _ignoring_ me?"

Taylor jumped as she left the bathroom, her towel dropping to the floor. She knew that arrogant voice. If she hadn't decided to dress in the bathroom, she would have been pissed – not that she wasn't upset.

"Get out Damon."

"Oo, don't tell me I scared you?"

"Look," she said, looking him in the eyes and she closed the distance between them. "I'm not in the mood for this, for _you_, so leave."

"Seems like a certain someone is grumpy."

"Because of you I had to stay in all day," she accused, tossing her towel in the hamper and plopping down onto her bed.

"Because of _you_ my chest hurts."

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Just be happy I missed your heart. On purpose."

Damon smirked – when did he _not_? – and walked over to her bed, taking a seat at the edge near her feet. "You wouldn't kill me."

Despite the close proximity, Taylor ignored it and decided to humor him. "And why _not_?"

"Because you like me."

Her mouth swung open. Where the hell did he get that?

"And what the hell would make you think that?"

"Look at me," he said, standing up and motioning to himself. "Who could blame you?"

Damon Salvatore was the most conceited person she had _ever_ met.

"Admit it," he continued, his smirk even larger due to her silence. "You've got the hots for me."

Disgust finally made its way to her face. "As if, you're just delusional."

"Am I, now? How can you be so sure?"

It was then that it hit her. He was doing it again. "Get out Damon. Now."

Her sudden change in tone faltered his smirk just a little.

"_Now._"

Taylor stood up and grabbed a hold of his arm, dragging him forcefully out of her room. Before slamming her door in his face, she glared at him and said – in the calmest voice she had – "I'm not going to fall for your mind games, Salvatore."

* * *

**C**hapter five out, what do you think? Good, bad? :] I used this chapter mainly as a filler chapter, with some dialogue to explain why she won't be going to school. Which means, a lot more Damon and Taylor time coming up !

Questions:  
What is up with Damon constantly appearing in her room?  
Is Taylor going to crack?  
Since she's not going to school, what do you think she'll be doing?


	6. Chapter 6: Reasons

Chapter 6: _Reasons_

* * *

Taylor woke to the wonderful sound of an empty house. It was strange that it brought her a sense of relief. She had never been one to love solitude; yet, it was becoming the one thing she looked forward to the most.

There was a knock at the door. _Who was it?_ No one was supposed to be home; Jenna had gone to work and Elena and Jeremy to school. Besides, if it were Damon, he wouldn't have knocked.

There was another knock.

"Yeah?" She finally asked.

Slowly, the door creaked open and Jeremy peaked his head in.

"Hey sis," he smiled.

"You're supposed to be in school," Taylor accused.

Stepping completely in, Jeremy made himself comfortable, sitting on the edge of her bed. He laughed at her accusation. He could tell she wasn't completely serious.

"I know, but I thought this was a special occasion. I fee like it's been forever since we talked."

_That's because it has been forever_, she thought, suddenly feeling guilty for never calling or writing.

"Fine, I wont bust you… this time."

The two shared a soft smile. It was as if she forgot everything that was bothering her. Like it was a year ago when she and Jeremy were closer than most siblings, before she decided to disappear.

"What's your plans for today? I thought you could finally tell me where you went and what you did."

'Who said I would tell you?"

Jeremy laughed, "When have you ever _not_ told me something?"

Forcing a smile, she replied, "True." There were a lot of things she wasn't telling him; one being the fact that she wasn't even normal anymore, that her idea of breakfast was a sufficient amount of blood and not a plate of bacon and eggs. But she would prolong telling him what she was for as long as she could. It just didn't eel right telling him. Not to mention she wasn't sure how he'd react if he knew Damon had compelled him.

"Anyway, I need to look for a job. Other than that, I'm all yours."

"A job," he asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"Okay, so I don't really _want_ one, but Jenna's probably gonna want me to get one sooner or later."

They laughed; it was true. With her being out of school, Jenna would probably ask her to at least look for a job. Taylor knew she'd get one; it wasn't hard to find one in the small town of Mystic Falls, plus, she had plenty of work experience from Chicago. All she planned to do was make a show of trying to find a job, while hoping no one would hire her. It wasn't like she needed the money. Katherine had given her a card that linked right to her private bank account, stored with all the money she accumulated over the years. She would be good for decades and then some. But Jenna didn't know that, nor would she probably ever.

"Of course… So, where did you go again?"

Sighing, the young girl knew she wouldn't be able to escape his questions. Besides, a part of her wanted to tell him everything she knew (not that she would). "Chicago."

"And you went because?"

"My nightmares."

He looked at her confused; she had never told them why she left. She had written the letter a year ago, but she'd been to frightened to give it to them, worried that they wouldn't understand her need to find Katherine – who she hadn't been sure had existed at all.

"Remember, I used to wake up in the middle of the night, screaming?"

Jeremy nodded his head. As she stood up from the bed, adverting her eyes and busying herself with picking out clothes, he recalled those nights vividly. They'd scared him crazy. Her screams had been so loud and sometimes, so agonizing, that he feared one night he would wake up to find her dying.

"I used to see things. Things that weren't exactly… well they weren't _nice_."

"What do you mean?"

Taylor stopped moving; letting the outfit she'd chosen dangle loosely in her arms. "I saw people getting _hurt_," she started, afraid to tell him exactly what she had seen. It really had been the most gruesome things she could remember. "It was horrible; blood everywhere, people screaming, a fire. And there was this girl."

"A girl?"

"She looked like Elena."

"How did you know it wasn't you? You two _are_ twins after all."

She smiled half-heartedly at his attempt at humor; this wasn't something she liked to joke about. Or remember for that matter. "I just knew she wasn't me. But I wasn't sure if she was Elena, either. She acted so differently."

"How?"

"She was tougher, more ruthless than kind, unlike Elena. And she had this way of acting around these two boys that just made her seem… evil."

Jeremy leaned back on her bed, resting on his elbows. "Boys?"

Taylor's eyes widened slightly, she had let it slip. "Yeah, two boys." She couldn't very well tell him that it had been Damon and Stefan. He would think she was crazy.

"So why did you leave because of that? They're just dreams, right?"

"That's the thing," she argued, clutching the clothes tightly. "They weren't just dreams to me. They were real, immense, events that I would see every night I went to sleep no matter what I did to get rid of them. I would wake up every morning dreading the night, afraid that something bad would happen to me."

"And you went to find her."

A nod of her head was his only response. It felt stupid hearing him say it out loud; so much less important than it had been to her a year ago.

"I get it. I would have gone too."

Taylor's head shot up and slowly a smile crept onto her face. That was why she loved her brother. "Thanks."

Jeremy stared up at his sister confused. "For what?"

"For understanding. That was the one thing I was worried about the most. That you guys wouldn't understand why I left and that you wouldn't want to see me anymore."

"You're so stupid sometimes, Tay."

Smiling brightly, she nodded her head, "I know, I know."

* * *

After quickly disappearing to quench her thirst on a young boy who happened to be jogging early in the morning, Taylor was back with Jeremy and the two were headed out of the house on a job hunt through Mystic Falls. Neither of them paid mind to the stares they got from passer bys, mostly because they knew they looked too young to be out of school. None of it fazed Taylor. She had spent such a long time away from Jeremy that she would have ripped out the throats of everyone around her if it meant she would get to spend the day with him.

"Where to first?"

"Mystic Grill. Easiest place to apply."

The two turned a corner and headed to the local hang out spot.

"How did you find her? What was her name…?"

Taylor tensed slightly at the topic of Katherine. It was hard to talk about her with him; she didn't know what to say to make him see the real her, the nice side of her, or to explain how she was in her dreams, without him knowing about vampires.

"Katherine. Her name was Katherine." She paused. "I was walking the streets of Chicago and bumped into her."

It wasn't a complete lie. _But not the truth, either_, she thought, hating the fact that she was lying to him.

"So you just knew where Katherine would be?"

"I didn't, really. Something just told me I'd find her in Chicago. Female intuition?"

Jeremy laughed. She could tell he was still trying to wrap his head around everything. "What I don't get is how she was in your dreams. And why they were so bad."

"I don't know," she replied, preparing herself for the lie she was about to tell. "We figured that it was because she's related to me that I knew her face, but we couldn't figure out the dreams. We didn't want to."

Nodding his head in understanding, Jeremy continued to question her. "Didn't you ever wonder, though, if she wasn't a good person to be around?"

It was a shocking question; one Taylor hadn't expected him to ask her and, taking advantage of their arrival at the Grill, she rushed off to get an application. Within a few minutes, she slowly made her way to Jeremy, who had been standing in the parking lot waiting.

"So," he asked.

"I snagged an app, they said would most likely get hired. I don't know if I really want to work there – I mean, there was this cute waiter dude, but I don't-"

"No," Jeremy interrupted, laughing. "The question I asked you earlier."

"Oh."

He didn't press her further; he waited for her to think of an answer. Just by the simple 'oh' she'd muttered he knew she didn't really want to talk about it.

"I did, once or twice." Taylor started, walking toward the park. She had decided that one application would be enough, considering she would most likely get the job.

"And you never did anything about it?"

"Katherine's a different kind of person, Jer."

"What do you mean? That doesn't make sense."

She shook her head. "It does. She isn't like some of the people here. She isn't just one kind of person; she's though, but she can be so kind."

He couldn't wrap his head around the idea of her hanging with someone who could be bad in anyway. "If she's such a tough person, why'd you want to hang with her? I mean… you've never been the type of person to hang with those people."

_Like you used to_, she thought. "Because I got to know the real her. And that was someone I knew wouldn't hurt me."

The two siblings arrived at the park quickly, emerged in conversation and laughing occasionally as something funny was said. The subject had switched multiple times since leaving Mystic Grill's parking lot, the current: the girl Jeremy was so interested in.

"So who is she?"

Jeremy pretended to not have a clue about what she had said. "What?"

"Don't give me that," she said, jogging toward him to close the distance he'd created. "Who's this girl who's got you all smitten?"

"_Smitten?_" he laughed.

"Shut up," Taylor glared, slapping him playfully on the shoulder. "Just answer the question!"

"Anna."

"_Anna_, huh? She cute? Smart? A _good_ girl?"

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Why are _you_ so interested?"

"Because, Jer, I have to approve."

"Approve?"

"Yes. I need to meet her and approve that she's good enough for you."

Jeremy laughed, turning to face her as she continued to walk backwards. "I need your approval, now?"

A smirk floated onto her face. "Of course."

All laughter faded when Jeremy stopped walking and asked, "So who's Jace?"

Taken aback, she gasped. "How do you know about him?"

"I heard Elena and Stefan talking about him. They said something about Damon and you and Jace."

Slowly masking her shock with happiness, Taylor tried to change the subject. "He's nobody."

"He _is _somebody, Tay."

She stared at him blankly. She knew he wouldn't drop the subject. "I dated him in Chicago." As if it were that simple.

_"And_?"

"He... one day he disappeared. I never heard from him again."

"Oh..."

"Come on," Taylor urged. She hated that the topic had brought the awkward feeling upon them - she hated that she had to tell him who he was, even if it hadn't been the comlete truth. "Don't be so frowny."

"Frowny," he laughed.

"Yup!"

In seconds she and Jeremy were running around the park screaming, acting like a bunch of two year-olds in a game of tag. Nothing else phased them; not the people staring questionably at the two, or the irritated look of the old couple sitting on a bench not too far off – Taylor didn't even sense the presence of a certain Salvatore, whom she would have turned to see smiling – _smiling _– at the scene before him. It was just she and her brother and they were enjoying each others company just like they used to.

This is why I came back, Taylor thought, the reason for staying and putting up with everything. But things with Elena… she would have to work on that.

* * *

"Well that was fun."

Jeremy laughed at his sister's comment as he walked up the steps to their porch. After the park, they'd grabbed something to eat and headed home. The sun had already gone down.

"It was – hey, what's that?"

Taylor looked where Jeremy was pointing – sitting on the swinging chair on their porch was a bundle of beautiful red roses. Getting closer, she noticed the note attached. She reached forward and picked it up, a quizzical look on her face.

"Who's it from," Jeremy asked.

"I don't know, Jer, hold on."

Taylor tore the note away and opened it, reading the short note that was written in elegant script:

_Sorry. _

"_So_?"

Dazed, she answered, "It doesn't say. It just says 'sorry'."

"That's weird."

"Yeah. Hey, Jer, why don't you go inside? I have to go somewhere real quick."

Jeremy nodded his head, listening to what his sister was saying, although he still wondered about her.

As soon as Jeremy disappeared into the house, Taylor sprinted off to the one place she knew she would find them: the old boarding house. Knocking on the front door, she half expected Damon to answer it screaming for her to go away. Instead, she was greeted with Stefan, which slightly calmed her down.

"Taylor…?" Stefan's eyes glanced from her to the flowers she still held in her hand. "Do you need something?"

She nodded her head. "Can I come in? I need to talk to Damon."

"Sure."

He moved aside and let her in, leading her into the living room area where she found Damon lounging about on the sofa, a glass of alcohol in his hand. "Just can't stay away, can you? And you brought me flowers this time. See, I _was_ right."

Taylor rolled her eyes. "I came to ask you why you left this on my porch."

"How can you be so sure it was me?'

"Who else _would_ it be from?"

Stefan watched the exchange with curious eyes.

"Why would I give you flowers, Katherine?"

Stefan fell rigid; Damon tensed, knowing the words that had slipped from his mouth. Taylor stared at him, mouth agape; shocked and angry that he had called her Katherine.

"Damon I am _not_ Kath-"

There was a crash. Before she could register what was happening, someone was on Stefan, and had stabbed him in the chest with a piece of glass from the shattered window. Damon reacted instantly, tackling the intruder off his brother, while a woman flew in from the now open window. The vampire fighting with Damon managed to push him off for a few seconds, enough to see Taylor.

"Katherine?"

Taylor froze in place, watching. She watched as Stefan killed the girl. She watched as Damon flew the other vampire across the room. And she watched as he escaped out of the window.

The two Salvatore's turned to look at her.

"I am not Katherine," she muttered, angrily.

Walking over to Stefan, she inspected the wound on his chest. "You gonna be okay?" she asked, as if everything were normal.

It wasn't.

* * *

**S**o we see one of the many sides to Taylor in this chapter: the caring and adoring sister. That is until Damon makes the mistake of calling her Katherine. Although she doesn't really have enough time to react, something to which I blame myself for. :] And, if you didn't notice, it's starting to follow the series plot, episode 16 or 17 I believe. I think it's the ending of episode 16. I will follow the next episode with adjustments, majority of it will be focused differently from the tv series, mostly looking at Taylor and Damon :]

Hope you enjoyed! Leave some wonderful reviews: critique me and such.


	7. Chapter 7: Trouble

Chapter 7: _Trouble

* * *

_

"Stefan? Where are ya' going?"

Taylor stepped down from the last step, her blue eyes bright with sudden energy, although her choice of clothing – one of Stefan's shirts that fell below her knees – showed that she had clearly just woken. Had she known she would have been sleeping at the Salvatore's house, well, she _wouldn't_ have ever thought that. Katherine would freak if she knew. _Ugh_. Thinking of Katherine reminded her about Damon's _stupid_ mistake.

But she ignored Damon; Damon who was staring her down trying to get her to look at him.

"I'm just going out to get something to eat. Lost a bit of blood last night."

"You want me to come with you?"

_Say yes, say yes,_ she urged in her mind. The last thing the girl wanted was to be alone with Damon. She'd probably kill him. For good.

"It's alright, Taylor. I'll be back in a few minutes. If Elena calls, tell her I'll call her back."

Taylor nodded her head. Stefan turned around and left, after one last weary glance behind him. Then all there was between the two remaining people was silence. She sighed, turning and walking past Damon and into the living room area, plopping herself down onto one of the chairs.

"Now, Taylor, that really _is_ no way to treat your _host_."

Sitting in the chair, she let out a growl. To think she had thought he was nice, being the one who gave her the flowers the other night. "Screw you, Salvatore. I'm surprised you got my name right."

Damon winced slightly. He knew he screwed up on that one. "Look – "

"Oh, save it. I don't want to hear your damn excuses."

Growling himself, he walked over to stand in front of her.

"Don't give me that look, Damon. I need you to get something straight in that feeble brain of yours," Taylor spit out, standing to hover dangerously close to the boy. "I am _not_ Katherine and I never will be, no matter how much you want that. And I _don't_ like being called by someone else's name. You want Katherine; fine, I don't care. Go find her. But don't ever, _ever_, call me Katherine again."

She wished she would see his eyes widen or at least her him say _something_ close to an apology, but she didn't. He rolled his eyes and smirked – that stupid smirk that made her way to scream.

"Relax, little vampire. It's not that big of a deal."

"Stop being such an ass, Damon!"

Taylor was standing closer to him than she wanted, but she refused to retreat. _He_ would be the one to move back. Not her.

Damon sighed inwardly, frustrated with the girl in front of him. Why was she so… so _difficult?_ "I'm not an ass, darling, I'm a sexy vampire. And _you_ are overreacting."

"Are you serious?"

"Very."

"Are you _kidding me_?"

A silence ensued in which Damon locked his eyes onto hers, showing no sign of emotion in them – although inside he was completely frustrated with her attitude – and Taylor, who glared her eyes up at the boy she wanted to strangle. As much as she didn't know it, Damon had considered that his apology. He wasn't the type to outwardly apologize to others. It just wasn't his thing.

"Not one bit."

Taylor was fuming. He had mistaken her for the girl he had loved and was probably still pinning over and he expected her to let him blow it off as some silly little mistake_?_ "You know what Damon, fuc–"

Her words were cut short. Damon's lips slammed against hers in a shockingly fast motion. For a second she was shocked. The last thing she had expected him to do was to kiss her. Damon was surprised too. He didn't really know why he had done it. It just popped into his mind and, he was never one to consider the consequences of his actions.

Slowly, her eyes started to close as the kiss deepened. _Wow,_ she thought. Damon _was_ a good kisser. It was like she was kissing a lover she hadn't seen in months and it was – _oh crap!_ Taylor finally got control of her brain again and remembered just where she was and _whom_ she was kissing. Damon! Fiercely she placed her hands on his chest and shoved him hard enough to send him flying back. He hit the wall with a loud crash and stared up at her surprised: the only emotion she had seen on him all morning.

"What the _hell_ was the for," he asked her, moving his shoulder around, easing the sharp pain shooting up and down his arm.

Taylor struggled to find words that wouldn't make her seem like an idiot, but her brain was fried, too busy thinking about the fact that Damon Salvatore had just kissed her out of the blue; while they had been fighting, none–the–less.

"_Well_, little vampire?"

That familiar smirk had rolled onto his face, but it was different. It didn't seem as confident. She didn't care, she _still_ couldn't wrap her mind around everything and it was giving her a massive headache. Without another word, the young girl rushed to the door, swung it open and disappeared.

It was still pretty early when she got home and she had to admit she was surprised Elena was up. Of course, the first thing her sister did was ask her where Stefan was.

"He's _out_," Taylor hinted, shutting the door behind her.

"Oh. I'll wait and call him in a few minutes… uh, Taylor? What's with the outfit?"

Taylor looked down, remembering hat she had rushed out of the Salvatore house so quickly she hadn't thought about changing. The kiss had left her a little out of it. And no way in hell was she about to tell Elena that Damon had kissed her. Who knew what kind of irritating trouble that would bring to her life.

"I borrowed one of Stefan's shirts last night, to sleep in."

It was, of course, then that Jeremy walked down the stairs, curiously glancing at his sister. "Is _that_ what you had to do last night?"

"Shut up, Jer!" She laughed, hoping that it didn't sound at all strange.

"So did you find out who gave you the flowers?"

"Flowers," Elena questioned, now joining the conversation. The curiosity was written all over her face. Taylor wasn't sure if she should just outwardly tell them.

"Yeah, I did Jer. Um, when Jer and I came home last night, there was a bundle of red roses sitting on the porch with a note."

"What did the note say?"

"Sorry."

"So who's it from," Jeremy asked, leisurely leaning against the bottom of the stair railing.

"Damon."

"_Damon?"_

Elena was shocked. Of all the people to get flowers from, Damon would have been the last person she would have thought of.

"Yep. So… I'm just going to head upstairs and maybe put some clothes on."

They both nodded their heads; Jeremy with slight curiosity and Elena, filled with questions she wanted to throw out. But she remained silent, unsure of what that would do. She was already guilty for keeping Taylor in the house all day the other day, when it really wasn't fair to let Damon wander about. Pushing her sister over the edge again would make her feel horrible.

Up in her room, Taylor did exactly what she said she would: she got dressed in pair of long black skinny jeans and a white tank top. Grabbing a black leather jacket from her closet and throwing on her favorite black books, she headed down the stairs again. Her mind was still racing about the kiss and she _needed_ to get something to distract her.

"Elena, Jeremy, I'm going out!"

She was already at the door when the reply came.

"Where are you going?"

"To grab a bite!"

Only Elena caught the drift, Jeremy remained oblivious and figured his sister wanted to get something from town, rather than their kitchen. Which was understandable to him: they didn't have much at the moment.

The sky had gotten extremely gray and it began to drizzle, quickly turning into a pouring rain with each step she took. She was glad she'd taken the jacket. Taylor set off to find something to eat, determined to get her mind off of Damon (but that was proving hard to do).

"Let's think… about something else… Ah!"

Taylor growled frustrated. Then, turning to see the forest, a sudden thought popped into her mind. She wondered what it was like for Stefan, to only feed on animals. She'd never tried it herself. The taste of human blood was all to enticing and kept her satisfied. Plus, it was the thrill of overpowering their simple minds into believing something else had happened.

_That's it_, she thought,the thing to take her mind of the older Salvatore. Deciding to try and see how Stefan lived (for no other reason than it being a distraction), she trudged over to the woods, gaining slight coverage from the trees. About half way into the deep forest, she realized she'd worn the wrong outfit to be doing _anything_ in the mud. It was all over her boots and was proving irritating. But it _did_ take her mind off things.

From a distance, she could hear what sounded like someone struggling. Her attention spiked, she realized it sounded like _Stefan_. Who could be attacking him? She didn't know, but after last night, she had no hesitation before running off toward the sound (managing even through her boots sinking into the mud). When she reached him, she was right. It was the same man from the night before, but this time he had more than one other with him. There were four others, five including him. Maybe they wouldn't charge her all at once? Or maybe she could convince them she was Katherine, since they seemed to know who she was.

"What are you doing," she questioned, mustering the best Katherine voice she could. And that was pretty simple, since she'd spent so much time around her that it was almost natural.

Stefan's head whipped up at the sound and instantly he knew what she was trying to do. Her warned her with his eyes, afraid that saying something would get her killed. But she ignored him, the stubborn girl she is.

They were all silent.

"_Well_?"

"Katherine?"

"Who else would I be? And you haven't answered my question."

Frederick, the head of the group who had attacked Stefan the night before, radiated anger. He not only wanted to get back at Stefan and Damon, no, he wanted to get back at Katherine too. It was because of them that they were in the tomb for so long. But Taylor didn't know that.

"We're getting revenge. For the tomb _you_ weren't in."

Taylor smiled, the same smile she had seen Katherine give her prey many times before. She could feel it. Things weren't going the way she expected; she knew they wanted her dead, or in pain. Katherine was not a friend of them. The question was, what would she do?

"But the one _you_ were in."

His eyes flashed with anger and within a second the four were running toward her.

* * *

**O**h my! That took a while to get out! I'm so sorry, I've been completely busy. ): I promise I'll try my hardest to get these chapters out as soon as I can!

Season Finale tonight! (:

Enjoy! Please review!


	8. Chapter 8: Unexpected

Chapter 8:_Unexpected

* * *

_

Slowly, Taylor's eyes began to flicker open, filling her with a worried sensation. She didn't recognize her surroundings. If there was one thing she'd learned from Katherine, it was that it was better to _always_ be aware of your surroundings. It lets you know where to hide and where the best point of attack would be. But she had none of that. The house she was in– she assumed it was far from town – was completely unfamiliar, although she could hear the sound of the others.

It was surprising to her when she lifted her arm to find it free of any ropes (not that ropes would have held her). Who were these vampires to trust her? What was to say that she and Stefan – oh! Suddenly her mind shifted. There was no one else with her in the empty room. They had Stefan. Stefan who had already lost too much blood. Stefan who was weaker than she was – and even _she _hadn't been able to take them all on.

She panicked.

Elena would be heartbroken if something were to happen to him. And, though she'd only known him for a little while and he hadn't left a good impression on her, she didn't want anything bad to happen to him. Unlike Katherine, who at that moment probably wouldn't have cared, she did. And she was going to at least try to do something.

Walking up to the door, she closed her eyes and listened. It sounded like majority of them were in the living room. It was hard to tell completely, there was music blasting loudly. She didn't even know how many of them were there and _that_ was what really frightened her. Well, that and the fact that they _didn't_ like her.

Taylor took a deep breath and hoped they were all there as she opened the door and slowly stepped out. So far, it seemed like no one was watching her, there was no one in sight. Taking that as a good sign, she walked to the end of the hall, peaking her head around the corner. What she saw chilled her to the bone. It hit her why Stefan hadn't been in the room with her. It was because they had him. They had him bent over, supported by two vampires who could care less if he was dead.

And that wasn't the only thing she saw.

She saw Damon at the front door and her throat hitched.

Without thinking – because she seemed to be doing that _a lot_ – Taylor rushed forward, reaching to yank one of the vampires from Stefan's side, when something pierced through her chest, to the right of her heart. Who ever had hit her, didn't want her to die. He wanted her in pain; pain that raked through her body fiercely.

Letting out a high-pitched scream, her eyes turned into a glare and she was just about to turn to face the idiot who'd attacked her, when something _else_ hit her.

"Taylor! Let her go or I'll find a way in there and I'll kill every one of you, slowly."

"Taylor? Now she said she was Katherine. And you haven't been invited in, Damon."

Taylor could hear the anger and hatred in his voice and the sadistic smile he was probably wearing, even as she fell to the floor, unable to hold herself up. They'd injected her with vervane.

"I lied," she called out, failing in doing that as loudly as she had hoped.

Frederick, catching on to how rashly Damon was acting, smiled. Yes, he would get his revenge and he would enjoy it. Walking over to Taylor's falling form, he grabbed a clump of her hair and yanked her head up. Her glazed eyes stared up at him, but she gave him no satisfaction of hearing her yelp in pain.

"Why?" He questioned, feeling Damon's stare on his back, burning holes through him.

Taylor felt weak. She didn't like it. Katherine had taught her to hate that feeling.

"If you kill me or the Salvatore brothers… Katherine will come for you and you _won't_… survive."

Frederick laughed. "I am strong enough to defeat her. We are."

"You will… never be as strong as her."

The last thing Taylor could remember before passing out from the amount of vervane coursing through her system was the horrified look on Damon's face. And she knew just then that he would do whatever it took to get her out.

* * *

"Taylor… Taylor, come _on_!"

Taylor groaned, whoever was calling her name needed to stop talking. The sound was too loud and it racked through her brain and it felt like it was squeezing tighter and tighter with each second.

"Elena, we need to get them out of here."

The young vampire struggled to open her eyes at the feeling of someone tugging on the chains that held her arms above her head. Through the limited vision she had, she could make out Damon's face and the determination it held. She was confused, but she didn't want to think through it. She wanted a nice bed to sleep in and some blood, because it felt as if she'd been drained completely. Once the chains had been removed, she collapsed forward, falling into Damon's arms. Though she wanted to push away and walk by herself – she _was_ still confused about him, after all – she was too weak to.

"Stefan, we have to leave. Here, just lean on me."

From her right, she could make out Elena struggling to hold Stefan up. The two of them… her and Stefan… they'd been locked up down there? She couldn't even remember. The vervane must have kept her so out of it, that she hadn't recognized anything.

"D-Dam – " she chocked out.

"Shh," she heard him say. But that was it.

Damon's eyes were set, hardened into a glare. He wanted to rip _everyone's_ head out, and though he knew why, he wouldn't admit it. Seeing Taylor chained up and unable to do anything by herself… it set a fire off in him. But he didn't like her, couldn't like her. His heart was with Katherine, as it had been for the years he had struggled to free her from the tomb she hadn't actually been in.

By the time they got out of the basement they'd been in, the vervane had begun to wear off. It was then that Taylor began to really feel the pain they'd put her in. Her whole body ached and she felt so thirsty, she felt uncomfortable with Elena trailing behind her and Damon. She could already smell the sweet scent emanating from her. And there was a pain coming from her side, it felt like someone had ripped into her with a knife. Not that it would have surprised her. From the look she'd seen in Frederick's eyes she'd gathered that he was a completely evil person who wanted nothing more than to get his revenge. It bothered her that she didn't know if he was alive or not.

Taylor shifted some of her weight away from Damon who seemed surprised when she did so.

"Don't push it."

"I- I'm fine. I can at least walk," she argued.

"We don't need to walk, we need to _run_."

"But Stefan and I – we both can't –"

"I know…" There was a hint of irritation in his voice, it seemed, but at what she didn't want to think about.

"Where's Mr. Saltzman," Elena asked, trailing a little behind them, interrupting what little conversation they were having. She wasn't Damon, she couldn't practically carry Stefan like he was to Taylor.

"He came in his own car, he's probably gone by now."

"Oh."

"There's the cars, Elena, can you handle Stefan? You need to be careful."

"I can handle him… Please, take care of Taylor."

Damon nodded his head, understanding that Elena wanted to ride in the car with them just as much as she wanted to stay with Stefan. It was her sister, after all. But she didn't need to worry about her. As much as Damon was confused about his feelings toward her, he wouldn't let anything else happen to her. He wanted her safe; as weird as that was for him.

"Hold on Taylor, we'll get you fixed up."

Finally reaching the car and sitting in the passenger seat, she waited for Damon to get into the drivers seat and start the car before she replied.

"I hope by "fix you up", you mean get me blood."

He chuckled. "Unbelievable."

"Really. I feel like I lost _all_ the blood in my system. And my _sides_," Taylor groaned, reaching to grasp her sides that were pulsing.

"Your sides?" the concern was back in his voice.

"Yeah, I don't know what's wrong with them but it feels like someone stabbed me. Over and over again."

"Let me see."

"Damon – Hey! Keep your eyes on the road!"

"I'm just trying to see how bad you're hurt!"

"I know! Sorry…" Taylor mumbled, aware that she had yelled at him for no other reason than being hurt and tired. Well, that and she was confused about everything to do with Damon Salvatore.

Damon slowed the car, frustrated with the situation. He wanted to help, but she was making it hard for him to do anything. He pulled the car over, leaving the keys in the ignition, turning to face Taylor, an authentic look of sympathy on his face.

"Taylor, let me see."

Struck by his actions – and the tone of his voice – Taylor lifted the bottom of her shirt. She gasped, to busy noticing what they'd done to see the pissed look on Damon's face. There wasn't only one cut, no, there were multiple – at least five. And they were deep, that's why it felt life it was fresh when she left the basement. That added with the vervane wasn't good.

"Damon," Taylor called, noticing his uncharacteristic phased out state.

He didn't answer.

She put down her shirt and, despite the hatred a part of her still felt for him, she reached over and put her hand on his cheek. "Are you okay?"

"Am _I_ okay? Look at your stomach. Bastards deserved to die."

She gave him a soft smile. "I'll be fine." Even though that was hard for her to believe, the least she could do was make him believe that.

As he was about to open his mouth to say something, a phone went off. Her phone. But she couldn't believe it had stayed in her pocket without falling out. Or that they hadn't taken it.

"It's my phone," she mumbled, reaching into her pocket, pulling it out. "And it's – "

Damon froze. From his spot in the drivers seat he could see over her shoulder to read the caller ID on her phone. It… it was… "Katherine?"'

* * *

**D**un dun dun!

Hello everyone! Sorry for this _late_ chapter. But better late than never, right? I hope this chapter proves to be worth the wait. And ohhhhh, suspenseful ending!

Leave me your reviews and tell me what you think.

p.s. what do you think Katherine's gonna do now? Or Damon, for that matter?


	9. Chapter 9: Jealousy and Pain

Chapter 9:_ Jealousy and Pain

* * *

_

It was needless to state that Taylor had frozen the minute she heard Damon utter Katherine's name. She didn't need to turn to hear the desperation in his voice, the longing to snatch the phone from her hands and find out where Katherine really was. That wasn't, however, what really shocked her. It was the fact that, although she hated his attitude – that damn smirk – and a part of her wanted nothing to do with him, there was that small part that was beginning to want it. And the way he froze in anticipation, made her just a little jealous.

"Is – "

"I'll ignore it," she whispered, quickly pressing the _ignore_ button on her phone.

She turned just in time to see Damon's face scrunch together in a glare.

_So much for the caring Damon_, she thought. And it pissed her off. Seconds ago he wanted to do anything to protect her and she felt _something_ for him. But at the sight of Katherine's name, and it could have been a different girl, he completely switches back to pinning over her.

"Taylor!"

Turning her head to look out the window, she shut her phone off, trying to ignore him. She knew what he would say and it would break her. As much as she hated him, there was no denying she felt a little something for him.

"Was that Katherine?"

"No." she lied.

His voice was harsh. "The screen said Katherine."

She took a chance and turned to him, forcing a smile. "You just have bad eyes, you've been _alive_ for a long time."

Damon didn't take to the joke. Rather, he did the exact opposite. His hand tightened on the steering wheel, cracking it in half. Taylor tried to calm herself down, but she didn't know what to do. She didn't want to let him talk to Katherine; she was selfish in that way. But, she was in no state to fend him off, if she pissed him off. She'd just been in a basement where they'd stabbed her over and over again, draining her almost completely.

Leaning forward, Damon's glare increased, all signs of emotion toward Taylor gone. It wasn't that he feel something for her… it was Katherine they were talking about. He'd been searching for her for so long and, even though he found out she didn't care about him, he still cared for her.

"Give me your phone."

There was no emotion in his voice; it was just a dead tone. Demanding.

"No."

"Give it to me."

"No!"

Using his vampire abilities against her, he attacked her, reaching over and grabbing for the phone. Luckily for her, she'd managed to keep it out of reach and push him off. Frustrated, Taylor swung the door open violently, struggling to stand her own. In a fit of furry, she turned to face him.

"What's your problem, Damon?"

He could hear the venom when she spoke his name and it shocked him back into reality. He realized what he was doing.

"I – "

"No. It's my turn to talk. You irritate me and make me hate you and then you kiss me. You come to save me and pretend like you care for me, faking like your angry when you found out about the stab marks all over my stomach, and God knows where else. And yet, you see _her_ name once – **once** – and you completely change."

By this time, she'd stumbled farther away from the car, upset and flying her hands around with tears slowly making their way down her cheeks.

"It's like you don't give a damn about me at all once you see her name: you _attacked_ me. But you know what I don't get? She left you – didn't bother with you – for all those years and yet you _still_ pine over her like you think she'll come running back to you. But she won't, Damon. She gave up on you the moment that churched burned down. No, she gave up on you when they dragged her away."

Damon held his breath. Hearing her say that, it brought back all the memories of the night Katherine had disappeared. All the anger, the fear, the heartbreak; everything. It took all his control to keep from shouting at her again.

Instead, he said, "Get in the car, Taylor."

Stunned, she wiped away the newly fallen tears. "_What_?"

He leaned over onto the passenger seat, speaking as calmly as he could. "Get in the car, I'm taking you to my house."

She shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

Slowly, Taylor began to wobble away. It was painful, but at that moment she would do anything she could to stay away from him. The worst part was that she didn't really want to. Her heart said stay, but her mind said leave.

Growling in frustration, he threw open the drivers side door and stepped out, determined to get her back to the house. Taylor noticed and pushed hard, struggling to go faster and to get farther away, but that was impossible. Damon had caught up to her in a matter of seconds. Careful not to hurt her even more, he picked her up bridal style and carried her struggling body to the passenger seat.

"Stay," he commanded, once he'd gotten her into the car.

The car ride back was silent and awkward. Damon didn't try to start a conversation and every time Taylor wanted to, she thought better and forced herself into a darker state of mind. When they finally reached the Salvatore house, it felt like ages had gone by for the both of them. Taylor was relieved to find Elena's car parked there. Of course she wouldn't just leave Stefan and that meant there would be people she could flock to, to avoid Damon.

"Wait," she heard, as she exited the car and started toward the door. She turned, hoping he wouldn't ask her something stupid.

"What?"

"About earlier – "

"I won't tell Stefan anything. You can continue to be the self-absorbing ass hole that you are and I'll go on pretending that I don't know you."

It hurt her more than she'd expected to say that.

"That's not what I want."

"Yeah, well, you can't always get what you want."

With that, she turned, leaving a stunned Damon Salvatore in her dust. She hoped she left her emotions for him back there too, but she had no luck in that department. The tears were falling again.

Inside the Salvatore's house, she found her way into the familiar living room to see Stefan sitting on the couch.

Taylor didn't bother to wipe the tears away; more would fall in their place. "Where's Elena?"

"She went to the bathroom just a few seconds ago," He said before looking up. When his eyes landed on her, his face took on that worried scrunch that, surprisingly, made her want to smile. "What did Damon do?"

"It's a long story." She paused. Trying to avoid the subject she asked, "Are you feeling okay?"

Tired and in pain, she took a seat next to him on the couch, leaning backwards and closing her eyes.

"Yeah, I went out to feed while you and Damon where driving back. Elena's been watching me to make sure I'm okay. What about you?"

"I'm tired and I don't have the energy to go out, but I'm thirsty. Did they stab you, too?"

"Stab?"

There was that worried scrunch. If he were human, he'd have serious wrinkles.

"Yeah. About a hundred times." Taylor lifted her stomach to show him, noticing that it felt the tiniest bit worse than before.

Stefan gasped. "Taylor! You need to feed to get it healed."

"It's fine Stefan. Don't worry." She pulled her shirt back down.

He sighed, defeated by the tone of her voice. She was just like Damon and Katherine that way, demanding with the things they wanted. "What happened on the way here?"

"Damon did," she answered, hoping he'd take that and leave it.

He didn't.

"And?"

"We were on the way back and he pulled the car over because he was worried about my wounds and…"

"And what, Taylor?"

"And Katherine called."

It was, of course, that moment when Taylor walked into the living room.

"Katherine called? The Katherine?"

Taylor nodded her head, more tears falling than before. The way she said it, it reminded her of the look on Damon's face: the shock but yet, the yearning to know more.

"And Damon freaked out," Stefan asked.

"Yes. I wouldn't give him the phone. He attacked me. So I got out of the car, but he wouldn't let me walk."

Stefan nodded his head, but he knew there was more to the story than she was letting on. There was some part that she was knowingly leaving out that was probably something really important.

"Where is Damon anyway," Elena asked, looking around from her spot next to her boyfriend.

"I don't know," Taylor answered, looking down to see that her phone had turned on and that she'd missed four calls from Katherine. "And I don't care."

She raised her phone and slammed it against the floor, smashing it.

If only she could smash the way she was beginning to feel about Damon that easily.

* * *

**"Y**ou can't always get what you want..." that part makes me want to sing the song, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find, you get what you need." Haha!

Anyway, this update got out earlier than I expected and I hope it's okay with you. I shot this out in one day, so I didn't really have time to check it before I posted it. I might not update for a week, my dog is expected to give birth! This is to keep you going in the meantime.

Leave me reviews: What do you think? Too much drama? Too much "I like you then I don't, but I kind of do?"


	10. Chapter 10: Every Rose Has it's Thorn

Chapter 10: _Every Rose Has it's Thorn  


* * *

_

_Entry 1_

_I wish I could say I love being alone; with all the time and quietness it brings, but I don't. I used to back when I was in Chicago. Katherine would wander off to do the things she kept to herself – the things I never questioned – and I was there, alone. It had never been bad. Being alone gave me time to think, to wonder about the things going on in my life and to ask myself the questions that needed to be asked._

Taylor held the pen in her hand, hovering about the paper of the new journal she'd purchased. Looking around, she felt no reaction to being in the Salvatore household. No, she'd spent a few days there actually. She had made a promise to herself that she wouldn't hurt Elena or Jenna or Jeremy. If that meant she had to stay away until she was safe, then that's what she would do.

After being locked up in Frederick's basement and the wounds she'd obtained, Taylor was not feeling the greatest. Stefan, who'd been concerned from the moment he'd seen her wounds, was – of course – insistent on taking her to feed, in hopes that it would heal the wounds faster. Only, after seeing her go after a rather young – around the same age as herself – boy, whom she treated as trash, though not as bad as Katherine did, he decided she would go on his animal diet, too. And because her body wasn't used to it, it took longer for her wounds to heal and she became agitated easily.

_But even though I feel like I'm alone here, I know I'm not. Somewhere in the house Damon's here. I haven't spoken to – or seen, for that matter – Damon since I left him standing at the car that night we came back, and I'm glad – partially. Seeing him would make me mad and sad, and a bunch of other emotions that I don't want to feel. He confuses me on a daily basis and it drives me insane. One moment I hate him and the next I don't. _

_I don't know how he does it, but he does, even if he doesn't realize it._

_But, and I know this is crazy, there's a part of me that's sad that I haven't seen him. A part of me _wants_ him to come to the door and apologize – as if that would ever happen with Damon. It's crazy, but sometimes I find myself standing up and getting ready to walk out the door and find him, just to talk to him. That's when I slap myself and remind myself that he loves Katherine and not me. _

_That I'm not important to him._

_That I'm just his tool to find her._

Upset, Taylor slammed the journal shut, tossing it to the corner of the room. Journaling had always been calming for her, something she and Elena used to do together, but it was doing nothing for her – except upsetting her.

Leaning back on her bed and bringing her knees up to her chest, she let her eyes fall on the box sitting on the edge of the table: the new phone Elena and Stefan had picked up for her, after she smashed hers. Why was she so hesitant to turn it on? She shook her head; it was Katherine. Katherine was why she didn't want to turn it on. She felt stupid, but she couldn't shake that feeling of jealousy towards her.

It wasn't that she suddenly hated Katherine – that would be stupid. Taylor still had as much respect for her as she had when she last saw her. It was just that, at the thought of her brought thoughts of Damon. And thoughts of Damon confused her.

_Why not_, she thought, looking at the phone and standing up to retrieve it. So what if Katherine called? She would answer, like she'd answered a million times before. Katherine was just a person and she could handle that, just like she could handle to stupid emotions that were toying with her.

The light of the IPhone in her hand immediately turned on and she took no time in dialing Katherine's number, one she'd memorized by heart.

Why wait for her to call when she could just confront her?

"Who is this?" Katherine answered, the same way she did whenever she didn't recognize a number.

"Hey, it's me."

"Taylor? Why didn't you return any of my calls? I've been calling for days, now."

"Yeah, a lot happened. I'm fine now," she paused. She really wasn't, but Katherine didn't need to know that. Katherine kept secrets, why couldn't she? "My phone broke, I wasn't able to get a new one until now… But, are you okay? Last time we talked there was a crash on your end."

Katherine sighed. "That was nothing, just an irritation that needed to be taken cared of."

"Oh? As long as you're okay."

"So what happened?"

"Nothing too major. It was just a few vampires that got out of control."

"Really? That doesn't sound too bad. Are you doing okay? Any wounds that aren't doing good?"

"Yeah, I'm doing okay," Taylor mumbled, glancing down to lift up her shirt and see the slowly healing wounds.

"No cuts or stab wounds?"

Taylor scrunched her eyebrows together. Why would Katherine be asking such a direct question like that? It was like she knew Taylor was hurt and wasn't healing well and was trying to make her say it. "It's nothing that needs to be worried about."

"Get out of Mystic Falls, Taylor."

"Huh?"

Taylor walked over to her window, starting out to see the quiet road and town before her. What could be so bad that Katherine was warning her about?

"Soon it's not going to be safe for you. You need to leave."

"I can't just leave."

"Yes, you can. You have the reasons."

Taylor's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?" How could Katherine possibly know about what was going on, making her want to leave, unless she was there? But she wasn't there… was she? "Katherine where are you now?"

"I have a friend and I've heard things. Taylor, you need to listen to me and get out of there."

Taylor didn't miss how Katherine avoided answering her question. "Where are you?"

"Chicago," Katherine replied, quickly.

"Don't lie to me." She argued.

"I'm not, Taylor."

"You sound like it."

"Fine, Taylor, I'm – "

"Wait," she interrupted, pulling the phone away from her ear. "Text it to me."

"Okay, sure… I'm sorry, you know I have my reasons."

"I know. It's fine," it wasn't, but she'd get over it. "Goodbye."

She hung up the phone, sighing. Taylor could still hear Damon. She'd been so focused talking to Katherine that, at first, she'd almost missed it. But he was there – listening, no doubt, trying to gather information.

Angrily, she picked up her phone when it beeped and read the message. What she saw confused and surprised her. She froze, dropping the phone to the ground.

"She's… she's – " _here,_ she thought, shocked.

* * *

_Ring… Ring… Ring…_

"Come _on_. Pick up!"

_Ring… Ring._

"Damn it, come _on_!"

"Hello?" Elena's calm voice answered.

"Elena, where are you now? Is Stefan with you," she added in, though she was pretty sure he was.

"I'm at school and Stefan's right next to me. Taylor, what's wrong? You sound worried. Did something happen?"

"Just get home, I need to talk to you. Stefan, too. I'll meet you there, okay? I just have to do something."

"Wait! Taylor! What's happening?"

She sighed, "I'll explain it later, okay? Just get home safely and stay there."

Elena must have sensed the urgency of her sister's situation, because she agreed, hanging up shortly after. Immediately, Taylor set off about her room in the Salvatore house. She changed out of her sleeping clothes into a pair of jeans and a tank top, putting her boots on as quickly as she could. She didn't know why she felt such urgency for Katherine being there, but she did, and that worried her. Not for herself, because she knew Katherine would never hurt her; but for Elena, Jeremy, and Jenna, because she knew that Katherine would.

Once she'd gathered her things and thrown them into her bag, she dialed another number.

"Jeremy, where are you right now," she asked, once he answered.

"I'm at the grill. Why? You sound worried."

Taking a breath to calm herself, she paused. "Could you come home? I just found out something and I want you to be home. Okay?"

"Tay, what's happening? Is something going on?"

"Listen Jer, I'll answer all your questions later. But for now, no questions okay?"

There was a pause, then a sigh. "Fine. I'll head home."

"Thanks, Jer. I love you. Hurry."

Quickly, she hung up the phone. Facing her door, she took a long, deep breath preparing herself. Taylor could still hear Damon standing there, just listening, and she knew she'd have to walk past him to leave. After his presence had been missing for a few days, it would be weird. But she had to go. She reached out and swung the door open, rushing down the stairs, avoiding eye contact as she passed Damon.

Just as she reached the door, he spoke. "Where are you going?"

Taylor didn't turn around, much to his dismay, as she answered. "Home."

Without waiting for him to say anything else, she left, using her speed to her advantage. She couldn't face Damon, in fear – amazing how _he_ was the only one in a year to really make her feel that – that she would fall harder. Or maybe she would have grown to hate him more, as she had first begun to do. She wasn't sure.

In a matter of minutes, Taylor stood at her front door. She swung the door open, stepping in with a giant relief of being home enveloping her.

"Elena, I'm – " she stopped, midsentence. "Uncle John?"

Jonathon Gilbert turned slightly to smile at his niece – the smile she found creepy. "Taylor. I haven't seen you in years. I heard you ran away. Where too? And I didn't know you came back."

"I went to Chicago to find someone. I just recently came home."

"Oh? Who'd you go to look for?"

"A friend."

"Do I know your friend? What's their name?"

"No, you don't. Her name," she paused, unsure if she should tell him. But why would he have any knowledge of who Katherine was? "It's Katherine."

"Does she have a last name?"

There was something in the way his eyes glinted when she said Katherine's name. And the way he turned to face her more, his eyes analyzing her more than before. Like he knew something and he was looking for some kind of reassuring sign.

"Pierce. Katherine Pierce."

"Pierce, huh?" He smiled again. "Did you know that name goes back years, back to the founding families time?"

The way Jonathon Gilbert spoke, like he knew something and was trying to subtly tell her, worried her. She wondered if she had made a mistake telling him that. _Yes_, she thought, studying him as he was studying her. _She had made a mistake_. She just couldn't figure out why or how he was connected to Katherine, for that matter. But she would need to find out.

Behind her, the door swung open, and Taylor knew it was Elena the moment she and Stefan walked in.

"Uncle John? What are you doing here?"

"What a welcoming greeting." He teased.

"Sorry, It's just been a long time…" Elena didn't like Uncle John, Taylor knew that, but her uncertainty was caused by the tense figure of her sister before her. Something was off.

"Oh, no, its quite alright. Taylor and I were just talking about her interesting choice of friends. You know Taylor, you are who you hang out with."

Taylor smiled politely, turning her head to Elena and Stefan. To their confused faces, she muttered, _Katherine. He knows I know her. But how does he?_

In an instant, worry set on all three faces.

_No, something didn't feel right. _

_

* * *

_**A**lright, another update out! Lots and lots of drama coming up. You have that to look forward to ;) I must warn you though, from here it's not really going to follow the television show or the book exactly. (: I kind of want to end it my way, cause I've had it planned for some time now.

Anywho, review and let me know what you think please. I love to hear it.

What do you think will happen next? And how do you think Damon and Taylor's relationship will end?


	11. Chapter 11: From Here to There

Chapter 11: _From Here to There

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_

"How does he know Katherine?"

That was the question that everyone wanted to know, yet no one had the answers. Taylor and Stefan were both one hundred percent sure that John was human, so there went the theory of Katherine being the one that turned him. They were missing something.

"I don't know Elena."

"What makes you think he _does_ know, Taylor? How can you be so sure?"

Taylor listened to Stefan's calm voice, trying to reason everything out. But she knew he knew – she just did. "It was the way he reacted to me knowing her, what he tried to hinted at. And, I don't know, I just _know_."

Her sister shook her head. "This is too much."

And it was; too much drama, too many issues. When were things going to go back to normal again? For Taylor, it felt like never. She had Damon to deal with – and that in itself is a complete mess – and now she had both Katherine and uncle John to worry about.

"I know," she sighed.

Stefan, breaking the tension of the room and remembering the mystery behind why they had all been asked to come there, asked, "What was so urgent that you needed us here?"

For a brief moment there was a pause, and Taylor didn't know how to say what she wanted to say. "Uh… I called her today, Katherine."

"And?"

"And she's…_here_."

"_Here,_" Elena gasped, obviously worried – and she had the right to be. If Katherine was in town, it meant she had something planned for everyone. "As in _here in Mystic Falls?_"

"Yes."

"What _is_ she planning?"

"Honestly?" Taylor questioned, squeezing her eyes shut and taking a deep breath. "I don't know. I need to talk to her."

"You can't be thinking of going and looking for her."

The two sisters were locked in a stare. It was understandable, Elena's worry for her sister. All the stories she heard about Katherine portrayed her as some sinister vampire who wouldn't blink an eye at killing someone – and it didn't matter that Taylor had somehow befriended her. Taylor held back a sigh.

"I have to," she explained, standing up and walking over to the window. Taylor leaned her hand against the cold glass and gazed at nothing in particular. "After spending so much time with Katherine, I've gotten close enough to her to the point that I can understand her and figure her out. But I need to see her and talk to her. It's different over the phone."

"That's dangerous, Taylor!"

"Elena, she won't hurt me. I'm not the one in danger in this situation."

"How can you be so sure, Taylor? I've experienced first hand how easy it is to believe she can never harm you. She's an expert at making you believe something you _wouldn't_ believe."

Taylor shook her head at Stefan, a weird look contorting her face. "I know her Stefan. More than you. You can choose to believe me or not, that's up to you, but I'm telling you the truth. Besides, I'm the only one who can reason with her. She'll try to mess with you, Stefan, if you go. Elena, you're human so there's no way in _hell_ you're going."

"And Damon?" Stefan was brave enough to ask.

"And we all know Damon would be an idiot and fall right back into her games."

The room fell silent. There was a thick tension that filled the space. Everyone there knew just what Damon had done and Stefan could only guess that it irritated Taylor that he would fall for Katherine again.

Jeremy's voice broke the silence.

"Tay? Are you in your room?"

Taylor sighed, knowing she would have to tell him some of the truth. Compelled or not, there was no way he would let this slip – and she wasn't about to compel him again.

"Yeah, I'll go to your room in a second, kay?"

"Yeah."

The vampire walked, reluctantly, to her door. "I have to tell him."

"Everything," Elena asked, a worried look similar to Stefan's on her face. "Taylor, I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, what if he does something dangerous?"

"I'm not telling him everything. Just the things he needs to know."

"Taylor –"

"Stefan. Elena. He has a right to know. It's his safety on the line here."

With that last sentence, she turned and left the room, letting her bedroom door fall shut behind her, feeling as if she had brought all of this onto them. In his room, Jeremy sat on his bed, an impatient look plastered on his face. Taylor knew instantly he had questions he wanted answered.

The second she stepped into his room, shutting the door behind her, Jeremy exploded with questions.

"Tay, why was it so important I get home? Is something going on? What aren't you telling me?"

"Jer," she spoke calmly, though he kept rambling. Taking a seat next to him, she placed a hand calmingly on his shoulder. "Jeremy."

The young boy stopped talking, finally taking notice of the serious look his sister wore.

"I'm going to tell you something incredibly unbelievable within the next few minutes. And I need you to do me a favor."

Cautiously, he asked, "What?"

"I need you to believe me."

Jeremy nodded his head. "Hit me with your best shot."

Taylor forced a soft smile. "Vampires are real."

"_Vampires?_"

"Yes, Jer. Vampires. As in suck your blood creatures of the night."

"Are you _serious_?"

"I told you I needed you to believe me."

"I know, but, Tay, _vampires?"_

"I've never lied to you before, Jer. I wouldn't start now."

The young boy stood, walking over to the other side of the room, turning to stare at his older sister. "Okay… so why are you telling me now?"

"There's someone here, a vampire, that I know. She's really strong and _very_ dangerous."

"It's that girl you went to find."

Jeremy's assertion shocked Taylor. He'd hit it right on the dot. And silly her, she'd thought that she could somehow avoid that. She tried to speak, but fell silent, tongue-tied.

"And now she's coming here? Are you in trouble?" He was worried.

"No. I'm not in trouble. She won't hurt me."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Jeremy, listen to me," she said, standing up and closing the distance between them. She grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. "She won't hurt me. But there's nothing stopping her from hurting _you_, from the one's I care about, from hurting everyone in this town. I need you safe."

"How are you going to keep me safe? Is that even possible against vampires?"

Taylor released her grip on his shoulders, taking a few steps back. "It can be possible, you just have to be careful. Have you met anyone new lately? Anyone different?"

"Just Anna."

"Anna? Who's her mother?"

"Her mother? I think her name was… Pearl?"

"_Pearl?_ Are you sure?" Taylor hoped he'd say he made a mistake.

If he said yes, then they were in trouble.

"Yeah. Pearl."

Quickly, her eyes flashed dangerously with anger. "I have to go Jeremy. I have to find someone."

"What? Tay –"

"I know, Jer," she interrupted. "You have more questions, but they can wait. This is important. I'll talk to you about it later. Don't do anything dangerous. Okay?"

Taylor waited for him to agree before she left his room. Soon she was walking out the house, past aunt Jenna and Uncle John, and – when she was sure no one would see – running as fast as she could toward the boarding house.

* * *

**W**oah, it's been a while, right? Well. I'm back - slowly, but surely. I have college and work now, too. So updates will be minimal. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! Next chapter will be interesting!

Let me know what you thought!


	12. Chapter 12: In Your Skin

Chapter 12_: In Your Skin

* * *

_

Taylor stopped right on the porch of the Salvatore's boarding house. He was in there – Damon. If anyone knew what was happening, it was him. She supposed she could have asked Stefan, but she knew Damon would probably know more. Damon had been the one searching for Katherine for years; _he_ was the only one who would consider opening the tomb – the only one dumb enough to open it.

In a fury, the young vampire threw the door open and made her way into the living room. Much to her surprise, it was empty. She had half believed Damon would be sitting there with some new girl as his snack, drinking all the alcohol they had. No such luck.

"Damon!"

The surprise and uncertainty in his face as his rounded the corner, entering the living room area, immediately made Taylor suspicious. It was like he wasn't sure if she was Taylor or Elena – or, maybe he wasn't sure if she was Taylor or _Katherine_.

"Yes?"

His simple question – clear of any indication to her name – pissed her off, because instantly she knew everything.

"You stupid idiot," Taylor hissed, rushing at him, her hand clasped around his neck in a second. Using her strength, she pushed him back against the wall, her eye glaring straight into his.

"What are you talking about, Taylor?" Damon struggled to talk through the little air she was allowing him.

Taylor wasn't going to be fooled.

"Shut up, Damon. You can't trick me. Katherine. Is she in this house?"

"I don't know, little one. Is she?"

Hissing, Taylor hoped he knew how serious she was and how this was anything _but_ a game to her. She loved Katherine like a sister, that was true, but this was dealing with the safety of her family. That was where she drew the line. If getting Katherine to leave and take Pearl with her ends it, then she is going to make that happen – that's not to say that she wants to harm Katherine.

"Don't play your games with me!"

Instead of replying, he smirked, and in an instant he and Taylor had swapped places. Damon held his hand firmly around her neck, the other hand holding her arms above her head.

"What games?"

The young girl glared at the vampire in front of her. "Don't pretend to be innocent," she spat, noticing how his grip was slightly looser than hers had been.

"Me? Pretend to be innocent? Never."

Taylor was frustrated. Irritated. Confused. Damon Salvatore really had a way of getting into her skin. "Damon," she said, as calmly as she could, earn a raised eyebrow from the boy in front of her – who, by the way, still held his grip. "This is important."

"Oh," he smirked. "Really now?"

"_Yes_," she sighed, trying her hardest not to snap at him. "I need to talk to Katherine. If you've seen her, tell me."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because I don't care what the hell you do with her as long as she gets Pearl _out_ of my family's business."

"Pearl?" Damon asked, letting her hands drop to her sides, and walking away from her. "How do you know Pearl?"

"Damon," Taylor sighed. "You should know by now that I know everything about Katherine's life."

"I doubt that."

"Of course you would."

"You only know what she wants you to know. You don't know first hand what she's capable of doing."

"I see it right now."

Damon turned sharply, his glare digging into Taylor so strongly that she froze in her spot. "See what?"

"Just how good she is at breaking hearts."

"Watch what you say." He spat, angrily.

"I'm just telling you the truth, how I see it. Katherine broke your heart, your relationship with your brother. She broke the kindness that Stefan somehow sees deep in your heart."

"The truth? Because you've only told the truth so far."

Taylor wore a confused look on her face, stepping closer to Damon just slightly. "I have told the truth, Salvatore."

"About everything," He pressed.

She wondered just where he was going with this. Damon had suddenly lost the part of her irritating personality in which he joked about everything, treating it as something unimportant.

"About everything."

"About Jace?"

Taylor froze. _No_, she thought, _not about Jace._ Hurt, she turned away from Damon, forcing herself not to think of Jace – because it always hurt when she did.

"I never lied," she insisted. "I just didn't tell you everything you wanted to know."

"That's lying, little one."

Taylor hated to admit it – and she wouldn't aloud – but Damon was right. She had lied to all of them about Jace, but she didn't see why that was such a problem. Jace was someone who had been extremely close to her and still was, even though she had no idea where he was or what happened to him. Her refusal to tell them had nothing to do with not trusting them – except for Damon, maybe. It was more that she didn't wanted to be reminded in their faces everyday of the one person she missed so much.

It was almost like Jace was Taylor's Katherine.

But in a _very_ different way.

Ignoring his statement, the young vampire switched back to the subject. "I take it you've seen Pearl, too."

Damon took note of the way she avoided his question, making a mental note to question her further about if later. At that moment, the only thing of importance was Pearl.

"And what makes you say that," he asked, filling a cup and taking a sip.

Damon moved to sit on the couch, leaning back casually as if nothing was out of the normal. His whole being showed no sign of any emotion.

"Your reaction." Taylor walked over to the other couch, taking a seat herself. "But it doesn't matter how I know – all I want is for her to be out of Mystic Falls. Permanently."

With a raised eyebrow, he questioned her. "And why is that?"

"Because she crossed the line." She answered, glaring at the wall in back of Damon.

"I need elaboration, little one, if you want my help."

"As if you wont take the information and ignore me."

"That's a chance you'll have take."

"Jeremy."

"Jeremy?"

"She's putting her daughter into his life. I _don't_ like it." Taylor shifted in her seat. "And what I _don't_ like, I get rid of."

"Well, that's very Katherine of you."

* * *

**A**lright! In the midst of college midterms and work, I have another chapter for you! And I must say, that last line is my favorite line so far... What's yours? Leave me a review and tell me! Hope you liked this chapter.


	13. Chapter 13: Help, I'm Alive

Chapter 13:_  
Help, I'm Alive.

* * *

_

"Tell me, Taylor, what's one good reason why _I_ should help you?"

Taylor sighed. What she _wanted_ to tell him was how much she wished she could strangle him at the moment; how much she _really_ didn't want to be there with him and how the only reason she was really there, was because she couldn't ask anyone else for help. What she did say was this, "Because you want Pearl out of your hair just as much as I do. And you can't do it alone."

Okay, admittedly, the only reason she added the last sentence was because she knew it would piss him off. Being Mr. Macho and all.

"I can take care of her by _myself_."

"So I'm guessing you're _choosing_ to have her around mystic falls, with her little tomb friends and her daughter."

He ignored her, rolling his eyes.

"And you just _love_ that she's threatening the very capability of you and Stefan living here."

Still, Damon said nothing. He kept his eyes in a spot on the wall, _pretending_ not to hear a word she was saying.

"Just face it, Damon, you can't handle the fact that she's stronger than you. You're pride won't let you ask for help."

Oh, he definitely heard _that_.

His gaze locked onto hers and she interrupted him before he could speak. "You really are easy to get a rise out of, Salvatore."

Damon's mouth clamped shut. For once in his life, he wasn't sure how to assess the situation. This little vampire was making it hard for him to decide if she was really asking for his help or if she was just playing with him; something very Katherine like.

"I'm not helping you."

"_What_," she hissed, sitting up straighter in her seat on the couch.

"I'm not helping you." He repeated.

"What do you mean _you won't help me?_"

"Exactly what it sounds like, Taylor. I have no reason to help you."

"Reason? She's trying to get into our lives, _Damon,_ and I'm presuming she wants to do something stupid like attempting to take back Mystic Falls."

"And that's such a bad thing?"

"You know what," Taylor yelled, standing up and fighting the urge she had to kill him for good. Suddenly, she remembered just _why_ she had been ignoring him for so long: because Damon Salvatore was an ass who, no matter how much he admitted it, wanted Katherine around.

Instead of finishing her sentence, she turned her head and started walking away.

Damon's calm voice called out after her, making her stop. "Taylor."

The young girl didn't turn.

"What?"

"This is your fault."

"_My_ fault?"

"You brought Katherine back to Mystic Falls."

"All I did, Damon," Taylor started, keeping her voice quiet. "was do something you failed to do."

In a flash, Taylor was pinned against the wall, Damon's glaring eyes piercing her own. His hands held her pinned by her shoulders, and she was too shocked to do anything, although it really shouldn't have shocked her that he reacted in such a drastic way.

"You don't understand anything, Taylor, so don't pretend like you do."

A saddened expression crossed her face, confusing Damon. "I don't understand? I don't understand how much it hurts to love someone, only for them to disappear from your life completely? When there's nothing you can do to get rid of that aching pain in your heart that doesn't disappear, no matter how much you try to push it back. And even your ability as a vampire to ignore your emotions doesn't work because _it hurts too much_."

_Jace_.

As his name slipped through her mind, something she hadn't expected to come that day, she couldn't fight back the tears that slipped from her eyes.

"You're not the only one who feels lost and alone, Damon."

It was weird and happened so quickly, that Taylor wasn't sure she'd seen it right in the first place, but she could have sworn Damon's eyes flashed with guilt and sadness.

Slowly, the space between the two vampires began to close in. Damon's face edged closer with each passing second, almost as if in slow motion. Soon, the two were so close that Taylor could feel Damon's breath on her face. Despite herself, she felt her heart picking up speed and her stomach knotting with nerves.

Her eyes were wide, yet, Damon continued to move forward and, if it weren't for his hands holding her shoulders back, she would have moved forward to meet him. And that both surprised and scared her.

"D–D…"

Just as his lips were close enough to brush hers, a phone ringing broke them out of the trance they'd been in, both looking away at the awkwardness of the situation.

Damon let his hold on her go, turning and clearing his throat. "You should answer that."

"Oh," she said, her mind racing a thousand miles a minute. She hadn't realized it was her phone. "Hello?" Taylor asked, as she answered.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Damon watching her intently, and it made her feel self conscious, for some reason.

"Taylor, It's Elena! What took you so long to answer?"

"Uh…" she paused. "Nothing. What's wrong?"

"Meet Stefan and I at school."

"You and Stefan? At school?"

"This is really important."

"More important that Katherine being in town and her friends on the verge of causing danger to the ones I care about?" _Okay,_ she thought,_ that came out a bit more spiteful than expected_. And, she reasoned, it had nothing to do with the fact that it irritated her that Elena had interrupted a moment between herself and Damon. Because it didn't.

"It may be."

"I'll be there." And she hung up.

Taylor turned to Damon, feeling like she should include him, for whatever crazy reason that she was too busy to think about.

"Something's up. Elena and Stefan are at school, waiting for me"

"_And,_" he questioned her, the tone of his voice returning to normal.

The young vampire sent a piercing glare his way, "_And_ do whatever you want with that information. Just thought I'd tell you."

And, just as quickly as it had come, the sudden closeness between the two of them where gone. As if it hadn't been there in the first place. Without another word, Taylor turned and walked out of the Salvatore boarding house, making her way to the school, leaving behind a very confused Damon in her tracks.

* * *

By the time she reached the school parking lot, Taylor was on the verge of a mental breakdown. The amount of confusion she felt was immense and she wasn't sure how to figure everything out, because there really was no way to figure out Damon Salvatore.

The very Salvatore who had tried to kiss her.

But still loved Katherine.

Who looked exactly like Taylor.

"_Ugh!"_

The vampire squeezed her eyes tight for a few seconds, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down. It didn't work. And, stepping into the tense atmosphere of the classroom Stefan and Elena had told her to go to didn't help either. Some teacher was there, too, Alaric, she guessed. He'd been there when they rescued herself and Stefan, so she knew he had some part in this.

"Are you okay, Taylor?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure, sis? You look upset."

"Elena! I'm _fine_, just tell me what was so important."

"Did I miss anything?"

There was that annoying voice, Taylor thought, moving away from her spot near the door to sit on the opposite side of the room, leaning against the teacher's desk. Her eyes were glaring at the floor bellow her feet. Elena, Stefan and Alaric shared glances, but dared not say anything.

"Isobel," Alaric stated.

Everyone seemed surprised. That is, everyone but Taylor.

"Who the hell is Isobel?"

"You don't know?" Alaric asked.

Being in a not too good mood, she snapped at him. "Obviously not, since I just asked who she was."

"She knows Katherine."

"_And_? A lot of people know Katherine."

"And she's our birthmother, Taylor."

Taylor turned her head sharply to stare at Elena. She knew they were adopted, she'd known it for a long time, that was nothing new to her. But finding their birthmother and having her coincidentally knowing Katherine, was not something she was prepared for.

"To hell with her."

"You're not curious at all," Stefan asked.

"About what," she questioned. "What the woman who left me is like, or the fact that she conveniently showed up at the same time as Katherine?"

_Sarcasm_.

"That woman," Alaric said, clearly upset. "Is different from when she was human, we she gave birth to you two."

"Well, I wouldn't know, would I?"

Damon, all the while, watched with an amused look cast upon her at her reaction. He was still struggling to figure her out.

"She wants to meet with the two of you."

Taylor rolled her eyes at Alaric. "Oh really? What for? I wonder what we have, that she wants." Her eyes glanced over at Damon. He'd already had a run in with Pearl, and now Isobel wanted something from them. And when these vampires came wanting something, it was usually because Damon had done something stupid.

"Something to do, probably, with Jonathon Gilbert."

Everyone fell silent, thinking for a few moments, of what was going on. Taylor, clearly irritated from Damon's earlier behavior and wanting to get out of there as soon as possible, cleared her throat. Slowly, she made her way towards the door.

"Set it up. The meeting. Tell me when it is and I'll show. I want to have a talk with this woman."

Damon reached his hand and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving.

"Don't do anything stupid."

It was obvious he hadn't been the only one to catch her angered tone.

But, for Damon, he'd chosen the _wrong_ time to be caring. In a flash, Taylor freed her wrist, pushing him roughly against the chest, sending him flying to the back of the class. He landed with a loud crash, a large dent in the wall that he'd hit, and paper all over the floor.

"I'll do what ever the hell I want to, Salvatore."

* * *

**T**alk about "hot and cold", huh? Taylor goes from hating him, to _kind of_ liking him, to loathing him. And it's Damon's fault. Do you think so? Let me know in your reviews, please!


	14. Chapter 14: A Day Without You

Chapter 14:_  
A Day Without You is like a Year Without Rain  


* * *

_

The meeting with Isobel came faster than Taylor wanted, but it had been expected. She knew that the meeting had been scheduled before she even left the room in her fit of anger. Still, a childish part of her hope it would be put off for as long as possible. And yet, the other part wanted to meet this woman, to take her anger out on her.

Waiting outside Mystic Grill, Taylor took long, deep breaths, attempting to keep herself calm. After leaving the school cursing Damon, she'd stayed out all night. It had been her time to think, even if she hadn't figured anything out. The vampire did find a boy to drink from and she enjoyed it, ignoring the Stefan like voice in her head that said she shouldn't be drinking from humans.

"Taylor!"

The young girl turned her head quickly. Elena and Stefan were there, Elena rushing towards her to envelope her in a hug. "I was worried about you. Where did you go?"

At this point, Taylor felt no happier than she had at the school the day before. "I'm fine. I just went to think... Let's get this over with."

As aggravated as she felt, she returned Elena's hug before they went in. The two girls found an empty table and took a seat. Taylor could feel Stefan's presence, and she knew that if she could, then Isobel would be able to, too. But it didn't offer her sister some comfort, so she remained silent. Just because she was upset, didn't mean she had to make Elena upset, too.

"Are you worried?"

Taylor shook her head. "No. Are you okay with this?"

Knowing her sister well, Taylor knew Elena would be more emotionally affected than she. It wasn't to say that Taylor wasn't able to feel emotions, no, she felt them just as much as the next person. For this particular situation, however, she felt nothing. This Isobel woman was endangering her family, and she _didn't_ feel anything for people like that.

Elena always was the sensitive one.

"I want to meet her, to get information, but…"

"But you really wish it wasn't like this."

Elena nodded her head, not surprised that her twin sister knew what she was feeling. They'd always been close.

"Yeah… I guess we can't get normal, for even a day, huh?"

Taylor was about to respond, to tell her that nothing in their life would ever be normal again, but a woman – who the young vampire immediately knew to be Isobel – came and sat in the empty chair next to them.

"_Isobel_," Taylor all but snarled, her mood shifting.

"My, my. Such hostility toward your mother."

The girl rolled her eyes, while her sister remained quiet and observant, sending glances to Stefan who leaned against the pool table.

"You're not my _mother_, you're the woman who gave birth to me."

"And there's a difference?"

Taylor did not like this woman. She was the worst of Damon, intensified; more manipulative, sadistic, just plain cruel.

"Very much so. You produced me. My _mother_ cared for me, _loved_ me. _She_ wasn't a bitch."

"Taylor!"

The younger vampire turned her head to face her sister, whose face clearly showed she feared this Isobel, and that she wanted to keep them safe. Taylor, however, knew she could defend herself. And Stefan would quickly intervene if something seemed off.

"She asked the question, Elena, I answered."

Isobel smiled, but it was not a pleasing one. "You truly are like Katherine, Taylor."

"Enough," she hissed.

_Touchy subject_.

"What do you want," Elena questioned, quiet but loud enough for the two vampires to hear.

"I want the device."

Taylor was confused, though she kept her face unemotional, as she had learned from Katherine. Never let the enemies know your feelings.

Elena spoke next, "We don't have it."

Interesting, Taylor thought. It seemed that she had been left out of the loop. Whatever this device was, they had it and were lying about it. Or they knew who had it. When this was over, she would talk to them and she _would_ find out what was going on. This affected her as much as it did them. In retrospect, it was probably her fault for not knowing. She had been the one keeping herself isolated.

"But you know who does, I see. I want that device, and you will get it to me."

"Oh, shove it, Isobel. You want it so bad, get it yourself."

A snarl was on her face now. "If I don't get that device, I _will_ cause you hell. I will kill everyone in Mystic Falls one by one, starting with your family… Or should I start with a certain Salvatore?"

At first, Taylor thought she spoke of Stefan, trying to convince Elena to get the device no matter what. Elena's face pained and she let her eyes fall on Stefan, knowing he had heard. She opened her mouth to protest, to tell her again that they didn't have it, but she was interrupted.

Isobel continued. "Should I start with Damon Salvatore, Taylor?"

"Is that your leverage, Isobel? Threatening to kill Damon Salvatore in the hopes that I will find this stupid device for you?"

In fact, Taylor's skin crawled at the thought of Isobel anywhere near Damon, even though she was pissed at him.

"Yes, and it is _good_ leverage, is it not? I've been watching you," she replied, earning a hiss from Taylor and a gasp from Elena. "You two are just like Katherine, separated into two. One can't stay away from the good boy Stefan, and the other – you Taylor – can't stay away from Damon, the bad boy."

"You need to understand something, _Isobel_. I do _not_ care for Damon."

"Taylor…" She paused.

The young vampire waited, wanting nothing more than to reach over and rip her head off.

"You should stop denying your feelings or I'll kill him before you can even realize it."

"Now who sounds like Katherine," was her reply. "Speaking of Katherine, how _do_ you know her?"

Isobel stood, clearly stating in her actions that she didn't want to answer that question. _Fear_, Taylor thought. If she answered that question, she feared what Katherine would do to her. It was so on her face, as if she were an open book.

"That is none of your business. And I expect the device soon."

She turned to leave, but before she did, Taylor managed to say, "Katherine isn't the only one you should be afraid of."

Isobel didn't hesitate. She continued out of Mystic Grill and Taylor could hear her take off running, disappearing with a trail that would be hard to follow.

Instantly, Stefan was by Elena's side, a look of worry on his face, similar to hers.

The meeting with their mother had done Taylor no good. As aggravated as ever, she turned to the couple. "What ever this device is, the one I presume you know about, you better keep it away from her."

"But giving it to her is the only way to keep her from hurting everyone. Taylor, we _need_ to give it to her."

"Elena. That's the very reason we're _not_ to give it to her. If she wants it, it's dangerous."

"We don't even know what the device does," Stefan added.

"It doesn't matter, because they do. And that's what's dangerous," Taylor paused, suddenly _wanting_ Katherine's company. Katherine always had a way of making her feel at peace. "I'm going to go find Katherine." She turned and made her way out of the grill, Elena and Stefan still on her trail.

"I don't think you should," Stefan commented, carefully.

"I've been so distracted that I haven't had to chance to talk to her and I need to."

"She could kill you."

"She won't."

"You don't know that."

"I do."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because she knows _everything_ about Katherine, isn't that right Taylor?"

Taylor growled. "Shove off, Damon."

"Oh come on now. Is that anyway to treat someone you have feelings for?"

"Those are Isobel's words, not mine."

Stefan and Elena watched the exchange before them: the two vampires who were constantly at each other's throats. The young Gilbert was afraid her sister would get hurt. She knew she could hold her own, but this was Damon and he always got carried away.

"We should get home, Taylor," Elena spoke softly, trying to get her sister _away_ from Damon.

The young vampire didn't answer – something had caught her attention.

"Taylor?"

_No response_.

Taylor had frozen in her spot. Her eyes narrowed in the direction of the forest, focusing on the scent that had suddenly caught her attention.

It was impossible.

"Tay?"

Stefan and Elena were worried; even Damon looked the slightest bit concerned at her lack of response.

When she finally spoke, it was barely a whisper. "It can't be."

"What can't be," Stefan questioned, but was met once again with no reply.

Without warning, Taylor took off, following only the scent that was so familiar to her. The very scent she'd know for such a long time, and missed for what felt like an eternity.

So focused, she failed to hear the sound of her sister screaming her name, or the sound of them all following closely behind her, Stefan carrying Elena. She failed to notice anything as she came a halt in her running, staring straight ahead, her heart exploding with excitement.

"Taylor! Where were you going?"

Elena went unanswered. She was just about to speak again, when Damon told her to shut it. He raised his hand and pointed in front of Taylor, where she had her eyes locked. Stefan put her down and she moved to see a boy standing with his back to them.

He was tall, probably around 5'8" or 5'9", with the darkest black hair she had ever seen.

Stefan and Elena exchanged glances, confused. They had no idea who this was or, for that matter, why Taylor had reacted in such a drastic way. To them he was just another boy, one who was stupid enough to be wandering around at night in the forest. Damon, however, portrayed no emotion on his face. He stood with his crossed against his chest, his face like a stone. He wasn't sure, but he had the faintest idea who this was. And he _didn't_ like him.

Sensing their presence, the boy finally turned. Bright green eyes scanned their faces before landing on Taylor's shocked one. Slowly, a smile spread over his face, a similar one on Taylor's.

Opening his arms for a hug, he said, "There's my baby."

Overwhelmed with emotion – happiness, excitement, fear, anxiety – Taylor let the tears fall like waterfalls down her face. She ran forward, embracing him tightly, in fear of losing him once again. Letting his arms wrap around her protectively, the young girl remembered how safe she'd always felt in his arms.

Pulling her face from his chest, their arms still around each other, she couldn't wipe the huge grin that had spread across her face.

"I missed you, Jace."

There was a gasp from Elena, but it didn't bother Taylor of Jace, who were caught in each other's eyes. There was nothing that _could_ distract them.

"I missed you, too, Taylor. More than you can imagine."

Standing on her tippy toes, Taylor stretched up and grabbed his face gently with her hands. She pulled him close, her lips crashing onto his in a passionate kiss, filled with all her emotions and longing, and most importantly, her _love_.

* * *

**S**o, that was an epic chapter, in my opinion. I have to admit, I had a lot of fun writing this one. I _finally_ got to bring Jace into the story. Which, of course, brings a lot of questions in now like, _Where was he that whole time? And why did he come back _now? Not to mention that Damon _already_ doesn't like him. Haha. Tell me what you think in your reviews!


	15. Chapter 15: Haunted

Chapter 15:  
_Haunted

* * *

_

Everything was finally turning around for Taylor – and for once in her life since Jace had disappeared, she was happy, content. He'd come back. That was all that mattered.

But then it wasn't.

As much as she loved him and trusted him, she _needed_ to know. To know where he'd been the whole time, what had happened to him, and why he came back just after Katherine did.

There was no such thing as coincidence – Katherine had taught her that.

"Jace?"

The two were lounging in her room, the door shut, Jace standing by the window looking out at something, and Taylor sitting legs crossed on her bed. They were enveloped in a silence – a content one – the very kind that said you hadn't seen the person in such a long time that it was good enough to just be in their presence.

He didn't turn to face her. "Yeah?"

"Where were you?"

"Taylor, I just found you. Do we have to do that now? The questions?"

She wanted nothing more than to say yes, but she knew that it shouldn't be something for him to hide. "Yes, we do need to do this now."

After their encounter in the forest by Mystic Grill, Taylor had managed to get Jace away from the Salvatores and Elena, because she knew they would plague him with questions. And even though they would be questions that she was planning on asking, doing it around them wouldn't feel right.

Slowly, she stood up and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his back. The warmth radiated off of him and calmed her worried nerves. "I need to know. I was so worried about you."

"It's nothing to worry about Taylor."

"It _is_ Jace. You have no idea how much I changed when you left."

The young boy turned around, facing the smaller vampire in his arms, as she looked up into his face with so much emotion, he forced himself to watch what he said. His hand lifted and he placed it gently on her cheek.

"I'm back now. That's all that matters."

"Jace, just tell me. _Please_."

He didn't like it when she did that – begged – and she knew it. What else was she to do? There was that desperation in her to piece together what had happened to him because she just needed to know.

"I killed so many people after you disappeared. Anyone I thought had anything to do with your disappearance, I questioned and killed. Hundreds of people – vampires, and I killed them all."

Jace was unsure of what to say. It was written all over his face.

"Just one more day."

Taylor was about to protest, when his soft warm lips crashed down on hers. Her mind fogged up, thoughts of asking questions quickly slipping to the abyss of her mind, and she was reverted to a primal state. It was amazing, but it was only Jace who knew exactly what to do to make her forget every trouble she had.

She pulled him closer to her as they both made their way to the bed. They fell onto the sheets, pulling apart for just a few seconds as a soft content sigh escaped her lips.

"Just one more day."

Jace smiled, just as brightly as Taylor was, as he trailed kisses softly down her neck.

* * *

The next morning came fast, as if Taylor hadn't slept at all. That was plausible, maybe she hadn't slept. It wouldn't be strange for her to have drifted to a dream like place without actually sleeping – it wasn't like she needed the sleep, anyway.

Slightly delirious, the vampire sat up, stretching her hands above her head. It was then that she finally noticed the empty spot in the bed next to her.

Where was Jace?

His clothes were off the floor. She couldn't hear him. Everything about her room screamed that he had never been there in the first place.

Panic stricken, she jumped out of bed, making sure she was fully dressed before she was flying down the stairs. Her feet hit the bottom of the stairs when she heard someone in the kitchen. Rushing in, she nearly broke into tears realizing that it was Jace. Having been away from him for so long filled her with a fear – that he would disappear without a seconds thought.

His somewhat long hair was ruffled in a mess, and she could tell he hadn't bothered to fix it – not like he ever did. His back was to her, but from the smell she knew he was cooking breakfast. It was so simple, but it relieved her so much.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you," she called, walking to him and wrapping her arms around his back like she had done the night before.

Strange, she thought. Her voice sounded different – melodic, fake, surreal.

Nothing else felt different. He still felt whole in her arms, as solid as he had ever felt. The familiar warmth and smell radiated off his body – the very one she knew so well.

"I'm happy to see you too, my little vampire."

Taylor jumped back.

His voice was different.

It wasn't just hers.

Jace's voice was lower than normal, more dark and twisted, and it sounded like he wanted to kill her.

But not her Jace – that would be impossible.

Shakily, she called out, "Jace?"

There was no reply from the young boy. He continued to keep his attention on the frying pan in front of him. Nothing else fazed him. Her scared reaction – that he _should_ have noticed – did nothing.

The young girl shifted in her stance, noticing something strange: her shirt was clinging to her body. It was like she'd just come in from the rain and her shirt was soaked. Taylor was confused, why did she feel wet? They were inside. It wasn't raining.

Looking down, she gasped. The entire front side of her shirt was covered in a red, sticky liquid. And from the smell, she knew it was blood.

Strange blood – it didn't smell real.

"Jace… why is there blood…" Taylor's voice trailed off.

A horrified look plastered itself on her face and her mouth failed to let out the scream of shock that it wanted to. Jace had remained with his back to her, moving around the now burning food in the frying pan in front of him, but his _back_. His back dripped with the very same red liquid that stained the front of her shirt.

Her mouth continued to open and close in an attempt to speak. Cautiously her hand began to rise, reaching forward to slowly stroke his back, earning a shiver from the boy. Confusion hit her once again. There were long, raised lines spanning his entire back. They hadn't been there the night before.

What the _hell_ was going on?

Although she feared what she would see, Taylor took a deep breath and began to lift the back of his shirt. Suddenly, the very vampire who had been so still earlier spun around. He held the frying pan in his hand, the fire blazing off the pan like it was filled with oil to keep it burning.

"Don't touch those."

There was no tone in his voice – just cold.

"Jace?"

Taylor was frozen, staring at the pan in his hand. She couldn't bring herself to look at him, something told her to turn around and run. This wasn't right.

"_Don't touch me_."

Shocked and scared, Taylor's eyes shot up to his, but she instantly wished they hadn't. Flowing from his eyes were waterfalls of tears – red, bloody tears – with the most frightening smile she ever seen him wear.

The panic that had been only mild began to sink in deep, rooting itself in her entire being. Jace was bleeding everywhere and the blood didn't even smell right. What was going on? How was this even possible?

By the time she realized she was crying tears of her own, normal tears, the fire in his the pan had died down.

A twisted smile spread across Jace's face.

"Here."

Slowly, her eyes drifted to the pan. It was black, completely burnt from the high heat Jace had put it on. At first, there didn't seem to be anything inside – it was just black everywhere. Then she noticed the smell. It wasn't the smell of burnt food, it was worse. It was worse than smell of death.

"Jace… what is that? What's going on?"

In a frighteningly upbeat voice, he replied. "Look closer!"

When she did, Taylor let out a terrified scream. In the pan was Katherine's necklace. The one Katherine had given her – completely burnt.

* * *

Taylor sprung up in bed.

It was… just a dream?

Shakily, the young vampire stood, taking in her surroundings. That had been an entirely too real dream. It still shook her to the core and frightened her in a way she didn't know was possible.

But it was just a dream.

Just a dream.

And that was all she kept telling herself, as she got dressed, searching for Jace in the process.

When she failed to find him and no one in the house replied to her calls, she began to worry. This was not how she wanted to wake up the morning after a dream like that. Jace coming back was supposed to be the best thing to happen. Why was it beginning to feel like it brought nothing but fear back?

Fully dressed, Taylor rushed down the stairs and out of the house, slamming the door shut loudly behind her. She took off running, knowing she'd get their faster than any car could drive. The Salvatore boarding house came into view and she forced herself to breathe. If Jace and the others weren't here, she had no idea where they were. And she needed to see him, just to make sure everything was fine.

She neared the already open door, her curiosity and fear at an all time high since she'd been back to Mystic Falls. The vampire was cautious. Something was going on. With each step she took she made sure they wouldn't be able to hear her, in the case that someone else was there. If they weren't listening for her, they wouldn't notice her.

The closer she got to the basement, the louder the voices and the noises became.

"_Elena, you shouldn't be here."_

So Elena and Stefan were both down there and Taylor could only assume that Damon was, too. Maybe Jace was? But why were they down there? And why was it so dangerous that Stefan wanted Elena out of there?

_Oh God_, she thought, as the fear crept into her stomach.

At the top of the stairs, she froze. She heard another voice – a voice she wouldn't mistake for anything.

"_Why _did_ you come back from your little disappearing act, Jace?"_

That was Katherine's voice.

And that was when everything flicked into place. Jace was with the Salvatores and Elena down in the basement with Katherine. Somehow they'd captured her.

In a second she was down in the basement, pushing through both surprised Salvatores. She ignored Elena and even Jace, although she'd come to find him in the first place. Katherine came into view and an angered growl left Taylor's lips.

Katherine was tied to the wall, blood dripping down her head where they'd most likely struck her. Though the wound was healing quickly, it gave her the appearance of crying tears of blood. Already the hair on the back of Taylor's neck began to stand. This was too much like the dream she had.

"Katherine?"

The eldest vampire smiled. "Hey Taylor."

Angry, Taylor turned to face the group. Her hands were clenched at her sides. If the chains holding Katherine back couldn't be broken by her, then she wouldn't bother to try.

"Give me the keys."

Jace was the one to speak. "No."

All eyes were on Taylor and Jace. This was the boy she loved, but she loved Katherine like a sister. And the anger that radiated off of her was so strong it was nearly visible.

"Give me the damn keys, Jace. Or I'll take them from you."

"She's been causing all this trouble and you want to let her go?"

"I want to let her go because this won't solve anything."

"She's dangerous, babe."

"I'm dangerous."

Katherine watched the exchange with observant eyes: the way Taylor defended her and still tried to keep Jace on believing in her, the way Stefan shielded Elena like he feared it would break out into a fight at any moment, and the way Damon had a soft smirk forming on his lips as the fight progressed.

"We're not letting her go," Stefan and Damon remarked.

"Then you better hurry up and lock me up too, or I'll break her out of there."

* * *

**I**t took quite a while for me to get this chapter out, that I know. I had something different written up, but I didn't like the way it turned out. This chapter makes it clear that the rest of the story isn't going to follow the books or the series very much. I hope that's okay with you? I may bring certain elements in, but not too many because I have an idea of how I want this to end and I'm not sure if I can bring both my idea and the series together nicely.

So what do you think of this chapter? Let me know! What do you think the dream meant? Are Jace and Taylor going to be okay? Is she really going to fight to get Katherine out? How did they even catch her?

P.S.: Damon in thursdays episode where he confessed to Elena broke my heart! Poor Damon! Makes me want to give him a happy ending here...


	16. Chapter 16: The Things We Do For Love

Chapter 16:  
_The Things We Do For Love_

* * *

"This is ridiculous – you know she's dangerous."

"No. What's ridiculous is the fact that you won't listen to me."

"It's not that we don't trust you, Taylor," Stefan tried to reason.

"You just don't trust my decisions."

The room fell silent, filled with an awkward tension so strong it was nearly visible. Katherine remained chained to the wall, an amused look plastered across her face. Stefan and Jace hovered protectively; Stefan near Elena and Jace near Taylor. Damon was the only one who seemed uninterested, but Taylor knew better. He was the very Salvatore who mastered looking uninterested.

"Just let her out."

"Taylor," Jace finally spoke.

He walked over to her slowly and stared her down. It was eerie. Taylor refused to look him in the eyes, afraid. It would be just like her dream. There would be blood dripping down his eyes and she'd scream – she'd scream only to wake up and realize it was all just a dream.

"_Taylor_," he whispered, lifting his hand to make her look at him. "You can't be sure she's safe."

"You can't be sure _I'm _safe."

"Stop it! Stop playing games."

Taylor took a surprised step back. Surprised at the tone of his voice, the look on his face.

"I'm not _playing_ games. I'm serious."

"You're nothing but safe, Tay."

The young vampire shook her head, a look of anger and sadness overcoming her features.

"Don't say that like you're sure. You don't know what I did when you were gone. You don't know how _un_safe I can be."

Elena stepped forward, sending Stefan a reassuring look that said she knew what she was doing. "You should listen to Jace. You can't know for sure that she –"

"_Stop it_," the vampire hissed.

They were all doing it – they were ganging up one her. Pushing their opinions on her, attempting to get her to believe that Katherine wasn't the Katherine she knew. Taylor felt like a rat – slowly getting cornered in a small room.

"Stop ganging up on me!"

"We're not ganging up on you, Taylor," Elena cried, knowing things weren't going well.

"Yes, you are! I didn't expect that from you Elena."

"Taylor," Damon warned. "Stop."

"Shove it, Damon." She hissed, but quickly her attention was back on Elena. "You protect Damon. You do too, Stefan. And I get it – you see some good in him that people can't. Okay, I understand. This is no different. Try to look at it from a different perspective."

"This is different. She's dangerous."

"It's not and you know it."

"If you saw me. If you saw what Katherine saw when I…"

"Taylor!"

The harsh voice broke through the small room, causing everyone to jump slightly, unprepared. Their eyes made their way to Katherine. From her spot chained to the wall she frowned, shaking her head.

"Don't. You don't want them to know."

"They should know. Maybe then they'll listen to me."

"You're just frustrated. You don't want them to know. You told me so."

"Don't want us to know what?"

Taylor turned to face them; to face Damon, who had spoken.

"To know what I did when I tried to look for Jace."

"What did you do?"

"Let Katherine go and I'll tell you."

"_Babe,_" Jace sighed. The argument was coming around in a circle once more and it would be repeated over and over if something didn't change.

"Then you won't know."

Surprisingly, Stefan budged. Ignoring the glare from his brother, he walked forward and unleashed Katherine from the chains that had bound her to the wall. Quickly, he was back at his spot by Elena, watching the dangerous vampire very intently. Katherine, happy to be free but anxious for the news that was to come, didn't smile. She stood and placed a comforting hand on Taylor's shoulder.

"Don't."

"I have to. They let you go. Besides, they would have found out eventually."

Taylor sighed, tucking her long curls behind her ears. She closed her eyes for a minute and she could picture it – everything that went down that night as if it were happening then and she were there, reliving it. All the blood, the screams, the innocent people.

Snapping her eyes open, she spoke.

"Do you remember that mass killing in Chicago a couple months back? The one they filed away as being gang related?"

They all remembered – it was the biggest thing to happen in a while in Chicago and the news had spread quickly. It had been a relatively peaceful night, but it was one that went bad, quickly. In the short span of five minutes – though police couldn't figure out how – thirty – eight innocent people died.

"There was no gang involved."

"Taylor?" Elena questioned, moving closer to her sister.

The young vampire didn't look at her. Her eyes were focused on the ground, her ears closed off to the sounds around her. Because they knew just how much of a monster she had been.

"Did you really do it? Tay?"

When the words finally reached her, she nodded her head.

"The things you do for love."

"Love?" This time it was Jace, and the guild in his voice was deep. But he had no reason to be guilty, right? Then again, she didn't understand at that moment anything about his disappearance and where he'd gone.

"I didn't know where you were and I was worried. I went to see some of the people you hung out with. They were cocky and made it seem like they were happy you were gone. It seemed like they knew where you were and wouldn't tell me. I snapped. I killed him. It was like the vampire instinct I'd pushed away came rushing back and took over. And then innocent people got involved. They came to see what the commotion was – and I killed them – all thirty – eight of them. Anyone who got close enough. Women, men, children, adults. It was a bloodbath."

The room was quiet. No one really knew what to say. Taylor, the girl they thought was so sweet and innocent, was the cause of a mass killing of thirty – eight innocent people. It wasn't possible and yet she'd admitted to it right there.

Overwhelmed with emotion, thinking about the killings when she hadn't in over a month, Taylor let the tears fall. They were guilt filled and pain filled.

Katherine, knowing this would happen, frowned. She pulled the young vampire into a hug and let her cry, because she knew the innocent soul she had would never get over what she'd done.

Elena and the others were shocked.

But what was more shocking: that Taylor had killed thirty – eight people at once or that Katherine actually seemed to care?

* * *

**H**ey everyone, here's another chapter. I know, it's been a while, and while I've got tons of excuses, I'll spare you the details. I had another chapter written up for this, but I didn't like the way it turned out or how it portrayed the characters. This one, in my opinion, isn't the greatest chapter, either. But I hope it's good! It brings in a new element to Taylor's personality - her history. It shows a side of her we haven't seen before.

Any who, I hope you liked it! Review!


	17. Chapter 17: Down

Chapter 17:

_Down

* * *

__"I shot for the sky_  
_ I'm stuck on the ground_  
_ So why do I try, I know I'm gonna to fall down_  
_ I thought I could fly, so why did I drown?_  
_ I never know why it's coming down, down, down."_

_- Down; Jason Walker_

* * *

_Blood._

_There was blood everywhere. On the grass, on the fountain, on the young girl that stood frozen – the sole survivor amongst a sea of dead. The sea that she'd created. They were scattered everywhere; Mother, fathers, children - humans and vampires. Eyes widened in the fear of what they'd last seen before they breathed their last breathe. _

_She hadn't meant to do it. It hadn't been her intentions. All the young vampire had wanted was to get information – Jace, that's all she wanted to find out about. He was missing and she needed to find him. The last thing she'd wanted, that had never even crossed her innocent mind as being possible, was to kill all these innocent people. The other vampires started acting up and one thing led to another. The next thing she knew, they were all dead. And she was the reason._

_The sound of screaming broke her from her thoughts. With one last horrified glance around the battlefield she'd created, she disappeared, a blur. The world felt like it was crashing down around her. Although she was moving too fast for her to be clear to anyone, everything was clear to her. The gasps of the people as they heard of the tragedy that she'd just caused. The look on their faces. The fear._

_She finally came to a stop when she reached a small house in a somewhat pleasant neighborhood. It was simple looking house, painted the same light brown color as its neighbors. With horror and saddened eyes, she stared up at her home, frozen. It didn't fell right, to be able to go home. Everyone back at the park, they couldn't go home. _

_Forcing herself to gain control of her body, the young girl rushed inside. Her clothes dripped blood onto the smooth wooden floors with each step she took. In the comfort of her own house, she finally collapsed. In a giant heap, the young girl fell to the hard floor, curling herself into a ball. Rocking back and forth, she allowed the tears to fall freely. The clothes she wore clung to her body wet with the blood of all her victims. _

_Their screams and horror – it was so vividly imprinted in her mind. The fear as they had scrambled away from her, the monster, trying to rush to safety. The look of defeat as they realized, sadly, that she was much to fast and much to strong – much to much a monster – for them to escape. The bravery as adults took shield to save their children and the agony as they fell to the ground and watched their children die with their last seconds on earth._

"_Taylor?"_

_The voice was soft, surprised and confused. _

_Taylor didn't look up. The voice hadn't reached her ears. Sounds of their screams were the only things running through her head. _

_The older vampire walked quickly to the young girl's side, crouching down beside her, uncertainty clouding her features. Unsure if reaching out to touch her would be best, she tucked her own curls behind her ear, trying again to reach the girl by calling her name. This time, it worked, but she wished it hadn't. The young vampire looked up at her with such guilt filled eyes and she knew, instantly, that whatever she'd done, she wished she hadn't._

"_Oh, Katherine," she cried, jumping into the older vampire's arms, sobbing loudly, as everything played out in her mind again like an old movie caught on a loop._

"_What happened, Taylor? Why are you covered in blood?"_

_At the mention of the blood, her sobs worsened. Taylor tried to speak, to tell her what happened but found she couldn't. The pain and the guilt were too much. It felt like something had lodged itself in her throat, making it impossible to speak. _

_Just as Katherine opened her mouth to comfort the young girl, what sounded like more than a dozen sirens filled the air, filling their house with a particular chill. She glanced down at the young girl, whose eyes widened at the sound and whose tears worsened, and she knew. Quickly, she turned on the large television they kept in the living room and turned on the news. She knew it the second she saw it that this was the problem, but she didn't know how Taylor could have done it. _

"_I'm here at Grant Park where what appears to be a massive slaughter has just occurred. Police have the area blocked off, but the numbers of deaths seems great. The attack has been attributed to a local gang. Oh God, it's so gruesome. There's blood everywhere. It doesn't seem like they died by gunshots, but police have not come up with an explanation as of yet. Witnesses say the attack occurred very quickly, in a matter of seconds –"_

_Figuring they had heard enough, Katherine muted the television. Taylor continued to cry, wishing to disappear._

"_I didn't mean to do it," she cried, softly, whimpering._

"_I know you didn't. I know…" Katherine pulled the young girl in close, wrapping her arms protectively around her, comforting her. But she already knew. Taylor would never get over this. With such an innocent soul, this would haunt her forever.  
_

* * *

Cooped up in her room, Taylor sat curled in a ball on her bed, her arms wrapped around her legs and her chin leaning against her knees. Silently, with tears cascading down her cheeks, she rocked back and forth. She'd thought telling them was the thing to do, so she had, but after she did she regretted it. Saying it was worse than having it haunt her everyday.

After the young vampire had broken down and Katherine had embraced her, she couldn't stay down there anymore. Quickly, especially after seeing the look of shock on Jace's face, the young girl had rushed to the room she had spent most of her time in at the Salvatore mansion, and she hadn't left since. Taylor could hear them downstairs, walking around and trying to wrap their minds around what had just happened. She listened as Katherine blamed them for this incident, but her heart hurt too much for her to go down and confront them. They deserved to think she was a monster, she thought, because that's what she was.

"I'm going to talk to her," Elena said, defiantly.

"Elena," Stefan and Damon called, and Taylor presumed that Stefan was holding her arm, keeping her back.

"Let me go. I'm going to talk to her."

"Maybe you should leave her alone for a little while."

"She's my _sister_, I know her better than you. She needs someone."

Damon pushed his argument farther, "Then I'll go."

A few more tears escaped Taylor's eyes. They were afraid to let her up there on her own, like she would kill her sister in a rage of anger. It hurt, almost more than thinking of what she'd done in Chicago, to think that they didn't trust her.

"No," her sister argued, pulling her arm from her boyfriends grasp. "She's my sister and I'm going up there to talk to her."

Katherine, still locked in the room in the basement, finally spoke to the group outside the door. "For people who think _I'm_ cruel, you sure are doing a great job."

"Stay out of this," Damon snarled, upset that she was trying to play her games.

"We're not like you," Stefan argued, turning some of his attention to the older vampire. He still kept an eye on Elena, in case she was to run.

"Really? You're not cruel?" Katherine shook her head, her anger building. For the first time that they'd known her, the Salvatore's saw the true emotions she felt. "She's hurting. You weren't there the night it happened; you didn't see how fragile she was. You don't know how much this affects who she is. Leaving her alone is about the cruelest thing you could do. She needs someone." She looked pointedly at Jace, who remained quiet in the corner of the hallway, quiet and shocked.

None of them spoke. They were shocked, to ashamed to admit that maybe Katherine was right. That leaving Taylor alone in her room for so long wasn't the nicest or the smartest thing to do.

"To think that she came all the way back for _you_," she snarled, letting her anger show.

Elena's eyes widened, as did Jace's, and Katherine shook her head.

Up in her room, Taylor finally stopped rocking back and forth. A heavy rain had fallen over the slowly darkening sky of Mystic Falls. Wiping away the dried and wet tears from her cheeks, she made her way over to the window. As quietly as she could, she opened the window. The cold wind whipped around her face, and a few droplets of rain splashed her face. Taylor closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of the rain.

The young vampire took a look back. They weren't coming up, and she didn't blame them. She pulled herself onto the window still and jumped forward. She landed softly on the wet grass and quickly sprang back up, running off, away from the boarding house.

She had no idea where she was headed, what made her even leave the safety of the locked room. Instead of listening to her head, she pushed forward, just running, trying to ignore the hurt in her heart.

Ignoring the voice in her head that screamed she was a monster.

* * *

**H**ey, long time no see, right? Well, I finally got the inspiration to finish this chapter and voila! I hope you like it, it was actually pretty hard for me to write. But I like the way it turned out. You do get to see what happened after Taylor attacked them and how much it affected her, as well.

The song at the beginning of this chapter, Down by Jason Walker, was the inspiration for this chapter. It helped put me in the mood. You should go listen to it.

I hope you enjoyed, please review!


	18. Chapter 18: Surprises

Chapter 18:

Surprises

_

* * *

_

By the time Taylor stopped running, the sky was bright again with the rising sun shinning down on the new town she found herself in. Why she ran, she knew, why she didn't stop and go back, she didn't. The entire year she had spent in Chicago with Katherine she'd regretted just leaving Elena and Jeremy, and it had forced her to go back home. And now, after something like the reaction of those around her, she ran. Without even a fight for the ones she loved so much, she just left.

But the guilt of seeing their faces was too much.

Jace, the very one whom she had been searching for and the very one who had come to Mystic Falls for her, hadn't said a word to her. He'd stared at her blankly, openly showing the shock he felt. But he had made no move to hold her, to comfort her. Frozen… Jace had just stayed frozen.

Taylor knew that would happen. They would finally see her as the monster she was. And they did. But what that reason enough to run away like a scared little girl and hope that everything would just start over? And what about Jeremy? Leaving left him in danger of Anna and her mother, who were waltzing around Mystic Falls freely.

Everything was too much. It was all so overwhelming. She couldn't decide whether to keep running or to go back. There were too many reasons in her head for both. Too many pieces to put together into one decision.

Too tired to decide, Taylor continued to walk down the empty streets, headed toward what seemed to be an old coffee shop. The shop has just opened and what she guessed where its regular customers filled the tables. Gracefully, the young vampire made her way to the cashier. After ordering a small Frappuccino and waiting for it, she grabbed her drink and sat the only empty table left. Right next to the shops windows, she watched as people started to come out of there houses, greeting people so freely, like they'd all known each other for their entire lives.

Ignoring the curious stares the townspeople gave her; Taylor tucked a few strands of her curls behind her ear. She contemplated going back, wondering what their reactions would be like. More than anything, she wished she had Katherine to talk to. All the times in the past year, when she felt alone or afraid, she always had Katherine there for her. Now she didn't even have that. Katherine was still locked up in the Salvatore's basement, unless shed managed to brake out.

A part of her wished she had never come back to Mystic Falls. None of the drama would have happened; she would still be living in Chicago with Katherine, as happy as she'd ever been, with the night of the bloodbath so close but yet such a faint thought in her mind. She wouldn't have to worry about what they all thought of her. The funny thing was, it was Katherine who'd accepted her the easiest; Katherine who comforted her without a second thought while her family and her friends where too afraid to.

The young vampire realized she was crying when a drop of her tears fell from her eyes, landing in a small splash on her hand. She quickly raised her hand and wiped the tears away.

* * *

"Stefan, I'm worried about Taylor. We need to go and find her. We can't just let her walk around alone."

Elena, worried and unable to sit calmly, paced back and forth in her room. She raised her hand and tucked the hair falling in her face behind her ear. It was all she could do to keep herself from running out of the room to her car, although Stefan would probably have restrained her, if that had been the case.

"Elena, _Elena_, stop worrying. Your sister can handle herself," Stefan argued, trying to reason with the young girl.

Slowly, the vampire stood, lightly grabbing the girl by her shoulders, stopping her frantic pacing. The room fell silent as they turned to face each other. Both wore mirrored looks of worry, though both handled the situation very differently.

"She needs me, Stefan."

"It'll be impossible to find her if she's gone too far. The best thing we can do is wait. She'll come back when she feels like it's okay to."

There was a sad look in Elena's eyes as she spoke. "She's not going to come back."

"No, don't say that. She will."

"How do you know? Maybe Katherine was right. Maybe we were cruel to stay down there so long, when she was alone in the room. If we'd all gone up there, if we'd even said anything, she wouldn't have left. It's our fault – it's _my_ fault. I'm her sister. I should know her better than Katherine!"

The young girl was frantic, on the verge of tears. With everything going on, this felt like added strife. It felt like someone had tied a stone to her heart and it was weighing her down.

"Don't listen to Katherine. She's playing her mind games on everyone. You wanted to see Taylor – she knows that. She could hear everything, Elena. She's going to come back."

Stefan reached forward, pulling Elena into a hug. In return, Elena wrapped her own arms around him, happy to have him there to comfort her. And, though he calmed her down greatly, she couldn't help but worry about her sister. When the two pulled away, Stefan walked her over to her bed, sitting down.

"Stefan, where's Jace?"

"He's back at the boarding house. Why?"

"He didn't go off after her?"

Stefan thought for a second, but he was sure that he hadn't left. It was possible that he left after himself and Elena left, but Damon would have called. "No."

"Don't you think it's strange? He comes all this way to find her and he doesn't even go after her?"

"It is strange."

It was like a machine's pieces finally working together in her head. All these questions she'd never thought to ask started springing up.

"And where was he before he came here? Why did he come here the exact same time as Katherine shows up? It can't be a coincidence."

"We'll wait for Taylor to come back. Then we'll talk with Jace."

* * *

As she left the coffee shop, Taylor could see him miles down the road, much too far for anyone near her to possibly see. But she refused to believe it. It was just her mind, she reasoned, playing tricks on her, toying with her emotions and trying to get her to crack. Before she could do anything stupid, the vampire turned on her heels, heading further away from Mystic Falls.

The little town she'd found herself in was similar to Mystic Falls. It was quaint and the people there knew each other and stared at her, the new stranger in town. She knew the questions they all asked in their heads: _who is she, what is she doing here, what does she want_, but they would never be answered. Taylor didn't plan on staying in the town for very long, not like she had planned to be there at all.

Continuing down the street, as the hot sun shined down upon her, Taylor tried to ignore the fact that there definitely was someone following her. It was hard not to notice, he made it very obvious, and it was clear that he hadn't planned on hiding it, either. The young vampire made her way toward the busiest part of the town, the park, where parents where out with their kids and there was noise everywhere.

By the time she reached the park and stood under the shade of one of the larger trees there, she felt him closing the small gap between them.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask _you_ the same thing."

"Stop playing games."

"Who said I was playing? You know why I came here."

Irritated that it had to be _him_, that _he_ had to be the one to follow her, Taylor turned her attention away from the busy park and turned it to the vampire in front of her, watching the volume of her voice. The last thing she wanted was to grab attention. And already the people began to flick their attention to them.

"No, Damon. I don't. But I do know why I came here. And you are a part of that reason. You, Elena, the others, you think I'm a monster. And that's fine – I can admit that I am. But what I don't need is you coming here and rubbing it in my face. So just leave."

"You know they don't think that."

"I don't want to argue about this Damon."

"Then stop being stubborn and listen to me."

"I am not stubborn Damon. I'm rational. I know what I did, _you_ know what I did."

"That doesn't change anything."

"It changes a lot of things."

Already aggravated with the conversation, Damon pushed her further, "Like what?"

"Like the fact that you're here, and Jace isn't!"

Taylor was upset and the second the words left her lips, she wished she hadn't said them. It had been circling in her mind all morning, always finding its way back into her thoughts, but it was different to say it aloud. It was different to realize how true the thought was; different to feel how much it hurt.

In a soft, sad voice, she questioned the vampire in front of her. "Why did you come Damon?"

The older vampire looked down, gazing into the soft eyes of the small fragile girl. "Because you shouldn't be alone."

A surprised gasp almost left her lips, but Taylor managed to hold it back. Of all the people to come, it had been Damon. Of all the people to care, it was him. Cautiously, she studied his face. The smugness normally there wasn't noticeable. There was nothing she could see that told her he was pretending. He was telling the truth. He left Mystic Falls, Katherine, to come get her.

"Don't play your games with me," she whispered, very aware of the amount of people staring at them.

Although he would never admit it, Damon was hurt by her words. She didn't trust him. It was his fault in the first place, but he'd never expected it to affect him. He was Damon Salvatore, after all. He wasn't human in even the slightest sense. He was a monster. Caring shouldn't be something he did. But, for some reason, with Taylor, he did.

In a low voice, he replied, "I'm not."

Taylor didn't want to let herself believe it. Believing hurt too much. It would be setting herself up to fall all over again. He attacked her for Katherine and that kind of emotion doesn't disappear over night. There was no doubt that she was beginning to want to believe, even with Jace back in her life. Because Jace hadn't come, Damon had. But she wasn't ready for that- the openness and the vulnerability.

"Stop pretending, Damon. You can go back to Elena and the others and tell them you tried."

Unnerved by the stares and whispers of the curious townspeople, Taylor turned her back on Damon and the park and started walking away, further from Mystic Falls.

"I can't do that little one."

"And why not," the vampire asked, stopping in her tracks.

"They don't know I'm here."

This time, the gasp escaped her lips. Taylor swung around gracefully, almost too noticeably inhuman, earning more stares. The two locked in a stare; studying each other in the silence of the world only they filled. None of the people in the park mattered to either of the two.

"You're here on your own?"

Damon didn't move. He continued to stare at Taylor, wondering how she managed to get under his skin so easily, like no one else had managed to. "All on my own, little one."

The only word that slipped its way out of her confused mind was, "Why?"

Taylor was frozen, waiting for him to say something, anything. The silence she felt as she waited was intense and it put her on ease; she cared- that was the bottom line. She was worried about what he would say and it scared her.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he moved closer, closing the space between the two of them. Taylor found herself holding her breath as he got closer and closer. Slowly, but so quickly, he bent down. Her heart sped up and for once in the past year, she felt human again. Their lips crashed together fiercely, filled with a suppressed passion neither had expected. Damon wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in as close to him as he could.

It was the first time she felt that safe since she'd been with Jace. A part of her felt like she was betraying him, but a part of her felt too happy to care.

* * *

**H**ey there, I got another chapter all set up for you guys! I hope you liked this one. It definitely was update much faster than the other ones, haha. I like this chapter. It lets you see a rather curious side of everyone: who stays, who worries, and who appears to not care. What do _you_ guys think of Jace's lack of a reaction? And what about Damon and his following Taylor? The kiss?

Let me know in your reviews! They let me know if you like what I write! Thanks for reading.


	19. Chapter 19: Longest Night

Chapter 19:

_Longest Night

* * *

_

_No, this is not your legacy.  
This is not your destiny.  
Yesterday does not define you.  
No, this is not your legacy.  
This is not your meant to be,  
I can break the chains that bind you._

_- Family Tree by Matthew West

* * *

_

"Brother, you are _very_ persistent."

"I called a dozen times, Damon. Where are you?"

"Well, that's a little hard to explain."

There was a pause, followed by Stefan's worried voice. "What did you do?"

It was Damon's turn to fall silent. He looked over his shoulder at Taylor, sitting on the opposite side of the room, pretending to be busy reading an old copy of the bible she'd found in the nightstand drawer. He shook his head, fighting back the faintest smile that, surprisingly, wanted to come.

"I didn't do anything, Stefan. Don't worry so much, you'll get stress lines."

Choosing to ignore his brother, Stefan continued, "Where did you go? We need you to come back here."

"What could be so important that you can't wait? That excited to see me?"

Damon focused on Taylor, and the sound each page made as she flipped it, entirely too quick for her to be reading. With a steady pace, the pages flipped, one after the other, almost robotically. She, however, paid him no apparent attention. She kept her eyes on the pages, as if she were trained to do only that and nothing else. Where her mind was or if she was listening intently to his conversation with his brother, Damon couldn't tell. Taylor had that way of making it impossible for him.

"Jace is gone."

Abruptly, the pages flipped faster, out of her pattern, ripping and hanging limply from the book.

"And this is important _how_?"

"Katherine's gone, too."

The bible slammed to floor, causing Damon to turn in his chair to face Taylor completely. She'd stood from her spot on the edge of the bed, but she made no move to do anything further. The older vampire was cautious with his actions and his words, not entirely sure of what was going to happen next.

"She broke out," he questioned.

Stefan's answer came slowly, after a pause, and Damon could see it in her eyes. Taylor was listening. It was the reason she was so still and so concentrated. "No."

"He let her out? It doesn't make sense. He made it clear he didn't trust her."

"There's something else we found."

Damon wasn't sure he wanted to ask what it was. He could care less if Stefan had told him it was Jace's dead body lying in there, in fact, he would have probably been happy to hear it. It was Taylor he was worried about. She hung on to every word they spoke.

"What?"

"Blood. A lot of it. "

"Whose blood?"

"It's human."

"And Jace was the only human near her."

As the words left his lips, Taylor rushed to the door, inhumanly fast. Damon reacted quickly, crashing into her, knocking her down to the floor, his body pressed against hers to keep her from running. Still, she didn't give up. The young vampire struggled against her senior, faintly snarling as a warning sign.

"Gotta go, little brother," Damon called into the phone, pressing the end button and tossing it on the bed.

"Get off of me, Damon."

Even with the anger and fear rushing through her system, laced deeply with the confusion she felt, Taylor managed to speak, though her eyes told a different story. They seemed darker than Damon had ever seen, filled with too many emotions for him to pin point. He knew letting her go would cause a lot of trouble, for herself and for anyone who got in her way.

"Not till you calm down, little one."

The young vampire snarled, using all of her strength to push him, sending him flying across the room. He slammed against the wall, leaving a dent as he slid to the floor.

In a flash, Taylor was up, about to open the door just as a hand grabbed the back of her shirt and flung her to the far back corner of the room. A gasp escaped her lips as she collided with the hard cement of the wall, pain searing through her body. With little trouble, she stood, and the pain was gone as quickly as it had come. A glance behind her told her he'd slammed her with enough power that would have killed a human.

"You can't keep me here," she argued, a determined look set on her face.

The only thing registering in her body was her desire to find Katherine and Jace and to figure everything out, because something was definitely off. She'd known it the second he'd come back and wouldn't talk to her about where he'd been – but she'd been so distracted by his presence that she'd overlooked it. But things were _not_ going to repeat themselves like they did in Chicago. Jace was not going to disappear again without so much as a goodbye. Damon in her way or not, she would find him and she would get her answers.

"Actually, I can. I'm older and stronger than you are, remember that."

Damon was the only thing in the way to her answers. He stood defiantly between herself and the door, a determined look on his face, mixed with something that she thought looked like concern, and she knew he didn't plan on letting her go without a fight.

"I need to find him, Damon."

"That can wait until you calm down."

"No, it _can't_."

"What are you planning on doing, Taylor? Rushing out of here to find him and then what?"

"I'm going to get answers."

"Answers can wait."

"I am _not_ going to spend my life waiting for answers."

Damon sighed. They were getting nowhere. Taylor was entirely too stubborn to listen to anything he was saying at the moment. He noticed as her eyes flickered toward the open window, and he came up with an idea. The older vampire ran toward her, reaching her in a matter of seconds. Taking advantage of her surprised reaction, he reached forward and grabbed the necklace from her neck. He was back in his spot on the other side of the room, the necklace hanging from his hand, before she could come to her senses and react.

"You're welcome to go out side," he called to her, watching as her eyes flickered to the window, where the sun was shinning brightly in the morning sky. "Honestly, I don't think you'll get far without _this_, but you can try."

Defeated, the young vampire fell to the floor in an angry heap, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the wall. She refused to say a word or to look at him, too filled with contradicting emotions to think properly.

* * *

The silence in the hotel room lasted for hours. Taylor refused to speak, falling into a silence that she dutifully kept, her eyes focused on one spot on the door, like she was counting the seconds down till sunset.

Damon, on the other hand, kept his attention on Taylor. It confused him – _she_ confused him greatly. Earlier that day, when he'd kissed her, she'd responded and he'd felt a strangely strong sense of happiness. Then, she goes back to ignoring him just like that. Ironically, he remembered how quickly he had turned on her at the thought of Katherine.

Finally, Taylor broke the silence. But it was more the question she asked that shocked him, than the fact that she spoke to him.

"Why did you kiss me?"

For the first time, Damon didn't know what to say.

"Damon," Taylor called from across the room, her curious eyes burning holes through him. "Why?"

He knew why. It wasn't a mystery to him, but saying it was different than thinking it, and thinking it was pretty hard, in the first place.

"Why do you think I did?"

"Don't try to go around it Damon."

"I'm not going around anything, little one."

"_Why_ Damon, _why_ did you kiss me."

"Because I _care_, Taylor, is that what you wanted to hear? Do you want me to tell you that I care about you? That somehow you manage to get under my skin and actually make me worry, make me try to protect you."

In a flash, she stood in front of him. He didn't move, he only looked up to see her deep eyes staring down at him, glazed over just the slightest. For a moment's time, she didn't do anything. She simply stood there in front of him.

Taylor couldn't do anything. She loved Jace. She'd been searching for him since he'd disappeared and she didn't want to do something stupid and loose him just when he came back. But he hadn't come after her when she stormed off. He'd stayed behind willingly while Damon followed her. And Jace was gone again, having disappeared before they'd even gotten the chance to talk about where he'd gone. And when she'd tried, he'd avoided it.

"Taylor?"

He only needed to say her name, and she pushed all her skeptical thoughts aside. She pushed him down on the bed, her lips crashing onto his roughly, the same passion they'd had early that day surging through them again. Taylor forgot how pissed she was at him for keeping her from finding Jace and Katherine; she forgot everything. All she knew was Damon.

* * *

Taylor had fallen asleep. The only reason she woke so soon was the sound of a phone ringing, seeming to come from below her. It took her a few seconds to realize it was Damon's phone, under the sheets near her pillow. Quickly, she picked it up and answered it.

"Hello," she asked, quietly.

From a look her left, Damon seemed to completely asleep, but it was never easy to tell with him. Still, she didn't want to wake him. She didn't want a reminder of what she'd just done.

Turning her bare back to him, she held the sheets tightly to her chest.

"Taylor? You're with Damon?"

"Yeah, Stefan. He followed me when I left."

"I'm sorry we didn't come after you, Taylor. I wanted to keep Elena safe and taking her all over the place–"

"Stop, Stefan. That's not why you called."

"Taylor–"

"It's okay, Stefan. Just tell me why you called."

"You and Damon need to come back. The sheriff found a body."

"A body? Was it a vampire attack?"

"Yes, it was. We need to find Katherine and Jace and figure everything out."

"I'll get Damon and we'll be one our way."

Taylor ended the call, placing the phone on the nightstand table. She turned to wake Damon, only to find he was up, staring at her with the all to familiar cocky smile on his face. He'd been up the entire time, listening to her. The young vampire rolled her eyes, lifting the pillow nearest her and slamming it on his face.

"Stop looking at me like that, Damon."

* * *

**A**lright guys, I got another chapter uploaded! I like it and am satisfied with this chapter, but I'd LOVE to hear what you guys think of it. The song at the beginning of the chapter is really good, you should give it a listen. I must say, I heard it IN the Vampire Diaries.

So, let me know what you guys think, mkay? Thanks for reading!


	20. Chapter 20: Stay

Chapter 20:

_Stay_

* * *

There was that awkward silence that filled the space around them. It was hard to ignore it, but it was what both tried to do. As they walked down the street, ignoring the still curious glances from the townspeople, all they could hope for was that they'd reach Mystic Falls quickly.

Neither had driven there. It had been dark when they'd run from Mystic Falls. But now, with the sun shinning brightly down on the town and people who couldn't mind their own business, it was nearly impossible for them to do anything other than walk down the streets.

Confused and confronted with too many emotions, Taylor wanted nothing more than to talk to Damon. But whenever she tried to speak, nothing came out. Her words got caught in her throat and she tried to rethink her way around things. It was a never-ending cycle and she had a lot of time to keep going through it.

"Are you going to do that the _entire _way home?"

Surprised that he had spoken, the young girl turned her head to the left, glancing at the annoyed vampire next to her.

"Do what?"

"Make like you're going to say something, then stay silent."

"Huh," she whispered, surprised he'd noticed that. It filled her with an unusual sense of joy. "Well, maybe if you weren't staring at me the_ entire_ time, you wouldn't notice."

"Just remember, little one, who kissed me back there?"

There was that banter back in his voice. It felt like it had been an eternity too long since she'd heard it. "That's not even relevant, Damon," she laughed. "But just for the record, _you_ kissed me first."

Defeated, but refusing to admit so, he continued. "And what was it you started back there, in the room? Oh, that's right, you-"

Abruptly, before he could continue, she interrupted. "Stop."

Damon fell silent, not sure where things where going at the moment. That was the problem with those conversations he always had with Taylor. One wrong thing, one wrong word that managed to slip from his mouth could send their conversation down the drain. He was never sure with her. He could never understand what was going on in her mind.

"Don't talk about it."

Her words were so forced, but so demanding, and it hurt him. She knew it did and it didn't make it any easier on her. But what was she to do? There was everything with Jace, everything with Damon, everything with a lot of things. Adding what happened earlier that day into it would make her head explode. Taylor needed to focus on what needed to be done immediately. Jace and Katherine were both missing and the sheriff, a part of the council, had found a body. They all needed answers. Adding questions to the mix would only make it worse.

Refusing to be brushed off, Damon stopped walking, grabbing a hold of Taylor by her arm, and forcing her to jerk to a stop. Although she refused to look at him, she could feel him staring, burning holes through her.

"Fine, if that's what you want. But remember, not talking about it," he paused, waiting for her to look him in the eyes before he continued. "It's not going to change what happened."

* * *

The second she entered the boarding house, Taylor could hear Elena and Stefan conversing, worriedly, but she heard no sign of Jace or Katherine. She wasn't sure if she should be relieved or worried.

"Stefan? Elena?"

It was unnecessary, but it felt comforting to call out into the silence of the large house.

"We're in here," Elena called back, just as the two entered the living room. It was clear to Elena and Stefan that something had gone on when they were alone. It was all over Damon's face, even Taylor's, and that was something incredibly rare.

"What's happened so far," Taylor asked, shrugging off the obvious stares and getting to the main questions. "Did the sheriff find any more bodies?"

Stefan shook his head, just as Damon plopped himself lazily on the couch. "She's covered up the first one, but there doesn't seem to be another yet."

"We need to go out there. We need to hunt them down."

Filled with a sudden adrenaline, Taylor was ready to do what she had wanted to do earlier in that hotel room before Damon stopped her. She could find Jace and Katherine. Mystic Falls was _not_ a big place. If they just let her go alone she could do it.

Elena, ever the voice of reason, spoke up. "Where are we supposed to start?"

"_We_ aren't doing anything," her sister answered, quickly. Three pairs of eyes locked on her, surprised. The vampire knew from the seriousness in their eyes that they weren't going to let her go without a fight.

"No, Taylor, you're _not_ going to look for them alone. You have no idea what happened in the basement."

"And neither do you."

"We're going with you."

It was the first time Damon had spoken since their confrontation on the way back. It sent a weird sense of chills up and down her spin and she fought the urge to shiver. Without turning, she replied, an edge in her voice.

"I'm going alone. I can handle myself."

"I don't think that's such a great idea, Taylor," Stefan tried to argue, and it seemed as though everyone was against her.

"Look, we can stand here and argue all day. I'm right, you're right, whatever. I can take care of myself. So we can stay here or you can let me leave and this whole thing will be settled. You choose."

"We're coming with you."

"Still stuck on that one, Damon?" She snapped, upset.

"You're not going alone."

"Stefan, you and your brother need to calm down. I'm strong; I won't get hurt. It's _Katherine_ and _Jace_. I know them. I'll be fine."

"Taylor, maybe you should listen to them. We don't know what happened down there. Katherine could have killed him."

A flash of emotions crossed Taylor's eyes, so quick that it was almost like they hadn't been there in the first place. When her body finally relaxed, the vampire shifted in her stance, raising her hands up and crossing them across her chest.

"If he's dead, I'll deal with it."

"Well you're not dealing with it alone."

_God_, if there was anything Taylor wanted to do at that second it was to attack Damon. Just moments earlier she had liked being around him, she had liked _him_. Then, of course, he had to go and screw everything up. The worst thing about everything was that Stefan and Elena probably agreed with him.

"Fine. I'm not wasting any more time with this. I'm going now. If you're coming, you're coming."

Elena watched with amazement as she followed her sister. The once quiet and soft-spoken girl had changed into this outspoken and quick-tempered girl. It almost felt like she didn't know whom her sister had become, but that was a ridiculous thought. Under all the arguments and anger that Taylor had, she was still the sweet and caring girl that Elena knew.

The second they got out of the house, Taylor caught it, a split second faster than the Salvatore's did: the scent of blood. It was just blood to the boys, but to Taylor, she knew that scent. It was Jace's blood and the faintest hint of Katherine's.

Not wasting any time, she was off, the others following closely behind her. The trail of the scent was simple, no elaborate turns to try and lose anyone who could have followed. Jace and Katherine hadn't worried about that, but Taylor did. When the trail stopped, they were in a large space in the forest, littered with tall trees casting a dark shadow on them. It was hard to pinpoint where they were; the scent seemed to be flushed over the whole space.

When she finally found them, Taylor's eyes widened. She could hear Elena in the back, asking Stefan what was going on, because she couldn't see as far as they could. And she could hear Stefan's answer to her, short and very broad. The last thing she heard before she reacted was the sound of Damon's footsteps coming closer to her, and his hand reaching up to grab her shoulder.

But she was off in a flash, sprinting faster than she had ever done before. The only word that left her lips as she closed in was a horrified, "_Jace!"

* * *

_

**H**ey guys, another chapter. It's more of a filler chapter for what happens _next_ chapter. I hope you liked it, although there wasn't much action in there. The ending will get much clearer in the next chapter. This was more intended to leave you in suspense. Haha.

Hope you liked it!


	21. Chapter 21:Broken Ties & Shattered Heart

Chapter 21:

_Broken Ties and Shattered Hearts_

* * *

Everything was fast – almost as fast as the night of the killings at the park. It was the same for Taylor, who watched for a few seconds afraid of what was going to occur next. There was the familiar feeling of being out of her own body, followed by the slow return of her senses and her reasoning. By the time she gained control of her body once again, Jace was about to do it.

The harsh whip of the wind crashed around Taylor as she sprinted forward as hard as her body could handle. Jace came in clearly as he leaned forward, holding Katherine by the neck. For the first time in her life, Taylor saw Katherine weak and limp. Her black curls hung freely, blowing violently with the wind. Jace had only one emotion on his face – pure anger. It was like he had some grudge he'd held against her for years – but he hadn't known her that long.

"_Jace!"_

The words left her lips desperate and afraid, but it didn't stop him. He paused and flicked his eyes in Taylor's direction long enough to know he had to act quickly.

With striking need to finish what he'd gone there to do, something that Taylor couldn't and didn't have the time to understand, Jace raised the sharpened piece of wood high into the air, quickly plunging it down right above Katherine's heart. Just as his hand began to fall, Katherine turned her head to look at the advancing vampire. She offered a soft smile, though her eyes showed the fear she really felt and the wanting to be saved.

"_No_!"

She didn't have time.

Taylor wasn't going to make it.

Jace's hand fell so quickly.

The situation seemed helpless. Katherine was going to be killed by Jace – and Taylor would kill Jace. The two people who were a major part of her life would be gone. Just like that. Why was Jace doing this? _How_ could he do it? He was human! There was no way a human could overpower Katherine.

After what seemed like an eternity, Taylor reached Jace and Katherine, just as the wooden stake neared her heart. In a frenzy she rushed into him, putting all of the force of her body onto him, knocking him to the ground. They landed in a thump, Taylor on top of Jace and Katherine on the ground next to them, limp. Taylor heard the sound of the others running closer, and she turned to smile at Katherine, whose eyes reflected gratefulness and something else.

"Taylor," Elena cried.

It was only when she tried to move that Taylor realized something had her stuck there, on top of Jace. She pushed herself up as much as she could go to look down. Jace stared up at her with pain written all over his face, but he said nothing. Looking further and more closely, she found the trail of blood, the blood that was coming from her.

Confused, Taylor looked back to Jace, who stared up her with eyes filled of the same emotion she'd seen the night he'd come back to her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Sorry for…? What's going on?"

"I had to kill her. I was supposed to kill her."

Biting through the pain, the young vampire harshly pushed away from the boy she loved, gasping as the pain finally hit her. Sticking out of her chest was the stake that had been for Katherine.

"Taylor!"

Elena and the others had reached them. It was strange that everything had happened within a matter of seconds when it felt like an eternity had passed.

"Elena…"

Tears were falling from the vampire's eyes. Confusion engulfed her, so much so that the stake in her chest hardly crossed her mind.

That is until Elena screamed at Stefan to do something about it.

"Taylor, you have to take that out."

"I know. I'm just trying to register everything."

Slowly, she raised her hand to the wood. She took a deep breath, yanking the entire piece out in one stroke. The vampire collapsed to the floor in a painful heap, as she cried out into the night. Damon rushed to her side, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to him, blood soaking his shirt.

"Damon, I-"

"Don't."

The young vampire dared to turn her gaze to his face – surprised to see the depth of the sadness she saw in his eyes. Why was _Damon_ sad? Surely it wasn't for her, no, not after what she'd said to him on their way home and the way she'd treated him. Even though she hadn't meant to be cruel. She was just thinking of Katherine and Jace – _Katherine!_

The pain from the wound had vanished, as did the wound, and Taylor made her way quickly to Katherine, ignoring Jace, who sat idly with a dumbfounded look plastered on his face.

"Katherine… are you okay? What happened?"

The vampire nodded, but no words left her mouth. Taylor was confused. If it were vervain Jace had put into her system, she would have been coming back to normal. But she still couldn't manage to talk? Taylor whipped her head around, a glare hardened onto Jace, tears falling down her face.

"What did you _do_?"

The boy she used to love, the _human_ she used to love, he didn't seem to be there anymore. Instead, Jace was someone she didn't know. Someone who would lie to her, go behind her back, betray her. Slowly, he stood, saying nothing. Damon and the others watched carefully, ready to intervene if it became necessary. But Taylor planned on taking care of him herself.

"Answer me!"

"I tried to kill her."

"_I know that_! Why can't she talk?"

"Because there's a spell on her."

"A spell?" Taylor glanced back at Damon and Stefan, unsure of what was going to happen to Katherine now. Stefan wore his familiar look of worry and Damon looked like he would kill Jace in a matter of seconds. And Taylor wasn't to far from that feeling, either.

"Get your witch to take it off. Now."

The tone in Taylor's voice was serious. Even with the tears that fell from her eyes, the sadness in her face, it was clear to the Salvatore's that Jace may not be leaving tonight.

Jace was defiant. He stood with his arms limply at his side, the bright green eyes she'd once thought were beautiful searching her face for something, so close to her but so distant. "I can't."

"Yes you can. Just tell me where your witch is and I'll gladly _make_ him take it off."

"You can't."

"And why _not_," she snapped, irritated with the game of charades they were playing.

"Because I won't take the spell off."

"You?"

The confusion hit Taylor like a demolition ball. Jace was a witch? He'd been a witch the entire time? From the first day they'd met in Chicago, he'd known she was a vampire. And he _knew_ that she knew Katherine. Jace had lied to her over and over again; tricked her over and over again.

"You lied to me."

"Yes, but only because I had to Taylor –"

"Everything was a lie!"

"Not everything! Listen to me, please," Jace tried to beg, stepping closer only for Taylor to step back, her eyes widened with hurt and betrayal.

"You pretended to – you said you loved me – that was a lie. You knew what I was from the second we met and you used it against me!"

The tears that were falling so softly earlier where gushing down her face like a waterfall, blurring her vision so much she felt the need to reach her hand up and wipe away the tears.

Jace shook his head. His eyes held a hint of pain in them, but Taylor refused to believe they were real. They couldn't be. Not after what he'd done.

"Just let me explain, _please_."

"No!" Taylor screamed, backing away from the encroaching boy. "There's nothing to explain. You lied to me. You _used_ me. I was nothing more than some stupid pawn in your game to get Katherine."

She'd had enough. It was all too much for one night. Almost loosing Katherine? Loosing Jace? Finding out he was what he truly was? Maybe the stake had missed her heart on accident. Maybe it would have been better if it had hit her right through the heart. At least she'd be free. The vampire turned away from the boy who managed to shatter her heart, walking towards her sister and the Salvatore's.

"Taylor, wait." Jace cried, reaching forward and grabbing her arm. The vampire froze, her muscles tensing. "I _did_ love you. None of that was a lie. That was real. You were – are – my life."

The lies had built up – the anger had risen to a point that she couldn't take. With a swift motion, Taylor turned, her hand raising up, clenching itself tightly around his neck. Her soft blue eyes stared into his sad green eyes, reflecting the pain, the hurt, the aching she felt.

"Stop lying to me. If you're trying to break me, you won. Congratulations."

With an anger that felt eternal, she threw him across the remaining space of the open field, letting him slam harshly against a large tree on the far end. After one last hurt look cast in his direction, she turned and walked towards the Salvatore house.

Taylor stopped by the group. "Can you carry Katherine back to the house, Stefan? Please. I can't take anything else right now."

Like the good friend that he was, Stefan nodded, moving to grab the vampire he thought should be dead.

Instinctively, Taylor turned to Damon. "Leave him alone Damon."

The anger on Damon's face matched her perfectly. "Are you kidding me? He doesn't deserve to be alive, Taylor."

"Please, Damon."

The elder vampire glanced down at the girl who'd manage to get so deeply under his skin. It went against everything he knew – he felt – to leave Jace alive that night, but he silently agreed, nodding his head.

"For you."

"Thank you."

With no more words, no more glances back toward the boy she thought she'd spend forever with, Taylor walked off, wrapped in Elena's comforting arms.

* * *

**H**ey there, readers!

Sorry for such a long wait for this chapter. To tell you the truth, life has been seriously getting in the way. But I finally got to writing this chapter and I hope you like it. Puts a little more drama into the story. Let me know what you think! Do you think Katherine will be okay? Taylor? What do you think Jace will do?

Thanks for reading!


	22. Chapter 22: Give Me Strength

Chapter 22:

_Give Me Strength_

* * *

_"You give the strength to me, a strength I never had,  
I was a mess you see, I'd lost the plot so bad,  
you dragged me up and out, out of the darkest place,  
there's not a single doubt when I can see your faces. "_

_Give Me Strength - Snow Patrol  
_

* * *

Despite everything that had happened and the shock of what had been said the night before, Taylor exited the bathroom with a new idea planted in her mind: things would be okay now. They would go back to normal… well, whatever normal could amount to, anyway. It was as if the shower had washed away all the regret, the hurt; all the remnants of a past she no longer wanted to remember.

There was a soft knock on the door and with a forced smile she pushed her long damp hair out of her face, opening the door to see her worried sister.

"Elena!"

The vampire reached forward and pulled her sister into a tight hug. When she released her, the look on Elena's face was one of astonishment with the hint of concern still there. Elena shifted her weight onto her left leg, balancing on the heel of her boots, and opened her mouth to speak.

"Taylor? Are you okay?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

"After last night, I just thought…"

"Don't worry, sis. It's okay." Taylor smiled, bouncing out of her room in a state of false happiness, her eyes lacking the familiar spark they held when she truly felt that way. The door fell shut behind her. "Did 'ya need something?"

"Stefan and Damon want you to come downstairs."

"Oh-kay."

The two sisters made their way down the stairs in silence: one hoping the other wouldn't notice anything and the other trying to figure out what was happening. The Salvatore's came in sight faster than Taylor necessarily wanted and she felt a twinge of butterflies in her stomach. She quickly pushed the feelings aside. There was no need to be _worried_. She was fine. Really.

"How are you doing, Taylor?"

The young vampire flashed a soft smile at Stefan. "I'm fine. What did you guys need," she asked, changing the subject before Stefan, or Damon, could ask questions.

"We might have a way to get Katherine back to normal."

"Oh! That's great. How?"

Taylor asked the question, but she silently hoped that it had nothing to do with Jace.

"With her," was Damon's reply, leading a confused Taylor to turn her head, a genuine smile breaking over her face.

"Bonnie!"

"Taylor!"

The two embraced in a tight hug, tears threatening to spill from Taylor, who up until then hadn't realized how much she wanted everything to go back to normal. They slowly pulled apart and studied each other. They hadn't changed much since they'd last seen each other – well, not _physically_, anyway.

"I'm so sorry I didn't come and see you earlier Taylor! I actually just found out you were back."

The vampire shook her head. "It's okay, really, I've been a bit busy anyway. What are you doing here?"

"Elena called me over. She said it was important. She said you needed me to do something."

Confusion flushed over Taylor. She turned a curious head towards Elena who smiled, soothingly, before she turned completely to face the two Salvatore brothers, who always seemed to be a part of what was going on in her life.

"Why is Bonnie here, guys?"

"We told you we found a way to fix Katherine."

Bonnie interrupted, before anyone could speak. "Wait, Katherine? As in _the_ Katherine who's trying to _kill_ Elena, Katherine?"

"Katherine's not going to kill Elena." Taylor defended, though not as whole-heartedly as usual.

"You know who Katherine is, Taylor? Why would I fix anything that's wrong with her? We should be killing her!"

Everyone held their breath, expecting Taylor to explode at Bonnie, despite the fact that she was simply being a concerned friend. They all knew her tendency to break out into an argument over the touchy subject.

But the response she gave was calm, almost emotionless.

"How would you fix her?"

"She's a witch."

Damon's voice rang through her mind loud and clear. Bonnie was a witch too? It was all too similar to the previous night. She'd found out Jace was a witch. And now she found out Bonnie was one, too? Taylor forced her eyes closed and took a few deep breaths before she reopened them.

"I'm sorry, Taylor, but what ever is wrong with Katherine I _refuse_ to fix."

With a lot less emotion than anyone in the room expected, the vampire nodded her head in response. "I understand, Bonnie. It was nice seeing you again; I've really missed you. Maybe we can catch up at the grill later. I'll uh, I'll be down in the basement."

Before her façade could fall, the young girl turned on her heels and walked away without waiting for a response from the confused Bonnie, into the basement where Katherine had most likely been forced to stay the night before. It was cold downstairs and Taylor attempted to focus on that rather the sound of Elena and the others attempting to explain to Bonnie what had happened the night before and who Jace was. Every time a word slivered its way from their conversation into her ears, she cringed and lost a part of her façade.

It was quiet in the basement and no noise came from the room they kept Katherine locked up in. Taylor walked over and easily opened the door, shutting it behind her as she hesitantly walked in. Talking to Katherine after everything was different than talking to the others.

"Hey Katherine," she spoke softly, forcing a smile at the older vampire who sat idly in the corning of the room, watching her with sharp and knowing eyes. "Can you talk? Did the spell come off?"

Katherine shook her head; her long curls falling gently to frame her face. She waited as Taylor walked over to her, taking a seat next to her, leaning her back against the wall, her eyes falling to gaze against the dark wall opposite her. "I'm fine, you know. It doesn't matter anymore. It's all over. I don't think Elena and the others believe me, but I _am_ fine." Even as she spoke the words she knew she was lying. She might be okay someday, but not today.

Like a good friend, Katherine reached forward and forced Taylor to look at her. Unable to speak, she simply raised an eyebrow, questioning everything Taylor attempted to make herself think and feel with just a simple motion.

But Taylor forced herself to hold on to her façade just a little longer.

"I mean it, Katherine. It doesn't bother me that Jace isn't the person I thought I knew, the one I spent so long searching for."

The look on Katherine's face remained.

"I don't care that he lied to me. That he might not have loved me. I've made stupid mistakes before, a lot of them. Believing his lies was just another stupid, stupid, mistake. Maybe I didn't love him either. Maybe it was all some spell he put on me to get close to you. It had to be fake; is _was_ fake, right?"

Taylor raised her eyes to meet Katherine's, hopeful that she would lie and say yes, that it was all fake and it wasn't her fault for falling under Jace's spell. But she could say anything. All she could do was frown.

"Katherine?" the young girl whispered, her eyes watering her voice hitching.

The girl who looked exactly like her and shared so much of the same personality softly gazed down, listening intently as she watched Taylor finally start to break down.

"If it's fake, why does it hurt so much?"

Katherine pulled her friend into a tight hug and didn't let go as the tears and the sobs finally fell out of Taylor. There were no soothing words exchanged – it wasn't possible. Just by being there, by truly caring, Katherine spent the time comforting her friend who'd been hurt by someone she'd really, truly cared for.

* * *

Taylor had spent hours down in the basement with Katherine, crying and talking and getting everything she felt out. By the time someone came down to get her, she felt like she'd cried all the tears she'd ever need and yet she felt like she could cry a river's worth.

"Taylor? You should come upstairs. You've been down here for a while now."

The vampire shakily stood, sending Katherine one last glance before she left with her sister up the stairs and into the living room area where Damon and Stefan were sitting on the couch, talking about something that stopped the second they heard her coming. Too tired to bring it up, she plopped herself down on the floor, letting her eyes fall shut as she leaned back against her arms.

"Maybe you should get her one of those blood bags, Stefan? She needs to get something in her system."

Elena's suggestion was actually a good one; one that everyone agreed to, silently. Before Stefan could stand, the bell rang, sending a loud penetrating noise through the silent house. No one moved. It was late, later than anyone would normally think to come to the house. Damon was the first to move, after a worried glance in Taylor's direction that she pretended to miss.

He opened the door, with the eyes of the other's watching closely and intently. The second the door opened fully, his body tensed and he could hear the gasp fall from Taylor's lips.

"Where's Taylor? I need to talk to her. I know she's here."

As calm as Damon could muster, he replied, "You don't deserve to talk to her. Now get lost."

"You can't make me leave this property, Damon. I _will_ wait for her to come out. I don't have to go anywhere."

"I didn't kill you last night because she asked me to. I will have no problem killing you right now if you don't get out of here."

"She won't forgive you."

"That's not your decision to make."

Damon and Jace fell silent as the soft, trembling voice spoke up from behind Damon. As their conversation had progressed, she had slowly made her way over to the growing scene. Taylor raised her hands and wrapped them around Damon's right arm, for the comfort and the support, as she looked Jace directly in the eyes – something she feared to do with every part of her being.

"You need to leave Jace. You hurt me enough. I don't think I can handle anymore of your lies. I won't tell Damon to kill you – I don't think I'll ever tell anyone to – but I won't stop him if he goes after you. Not anymore. So just leave and, please, don't bother coming back."

Jace's eyes widened and though Taylor swore she saw them begin to fill with tears, she pulled Damon back and slammed the door shut, harder than anyone in the house had expected, and Elena jumped at the sudden noise.

"Come on," Damon whispered, feeling her body slump against him. He slowly led her up the stairs, his attention solely focused on the girl in his arms. Stefan and Elena, who watched curiously and worriedly didn't say a word, sure that she would be better off going to her room, anyway.

Taylor waited till the comfort of her room engulfed her before she let the tears she'd thought she gotten out fall. Damon, who'd been carrying most of her weight up the stairs, picked her up and walked over to her bed. Silently, he sat down, cradling the crying girl in his arms, rubbing his hand up and down her back, soothingly. The young vampire wanted to stop, trying to tell herself that she'd cried too much for someone she was trying to convince herself she didn't love. But no matter how much she tried to convince herself, the tears kept falling. And in the end it was Damon who was there for her; Damon who cared enough to comfort her.

* * *

**S**o I've gotten out another chapter for you guys! I hope you liked reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it. The song in the beginning of the chapter that I used for the title, Give Me Strength by Snow Patrol, is the best song for this chapter, I think. Try listening to it as you read. Or just the bottom part. It makes me think of Taylor saying Damon gives her strength at the very end, when he's there for her.

I just wanted to let you know, those of you who read and review are awesome! You guys make me want to write! So let me know what you think.

Do you think Jace will listen and leave? Or will he take matters into his own hands? What about Damon and Taylor? What do you think?

Thanks for reading!


	23. Chapter 23: Lost in You

Chapter 23:

_Lost in You_

* * *

Sleep had evaded Taylor the entire night. Though she managed to fall asleep on and off, whenever she could sleep she awoke from dreams plagued with thoughts of Jace. And each time the nightmares would wake her she'd realize that Damon was still there and a sense of calm would rush over her, sending her back to sleep until another nightmare could wake her. By the time morning came, she felt no more rested or relaxed than she had the night before. If anything, it felt worse to have been deprived of something she wanted.

"You didn't sleep much last night."

Damon's voice so near to her, though it was to be expected as he'd stayed with her the entire night, came as a bit of a surprise to Taylor. She found herself glancing up in a bit of a daze, her head still leaning on Damon's chest with his arms wrapped around her protectively. Funny, she had woken up to Damon every so often through the night and yet she still felt surprised to see him still sitting there in the morning. Taylor had never really expected it.

But she did appreciate it.

"Yeah," she mumbled, everything weighing heavily on her shoulders. With her eyes locked on Damon's, she whispered, "Where you up all night?"

It would have been pointless to ask him if he had stayed all night. They both knew the answer to that.

The male nodded his head, not the smallest hint of fatigue on his face as his grip around Taylor tightened protectively in just the slightest amount.

"You didn't have to do that Damon."

"I wanted to."

"I would have been fine on my own."

It was a lie and they both knew it the instant it left her lips. But Taylor felt a nagging need inside of her to make him think she was okay, at the very least. Yet, Damon was Damon and he didn't plan on being fooled.

He raised a curious eyebrow at her, a hint of his playful smirk returning. It had to have been ages since that smirk had been there, giving Taylor the slightest amount of comfort. "Is that why you couldn't sleep? Because you wanted to be alone?"

Taylor glared at the vampire, lightly hitting her fist against his chest. Then the playfulness disappeared and she spoke in a whispered and strained voice. "I kept seeing Jace in my dreams." Her eyes had faltered from their position and lowered to stare at his chest, watching as it moved with every breath he took. "And it wasn't just normal dreams, I'd expected those."

"What do you mean?"

"Before I fell asleep, I knew I'd probably see him there. I thought for sure that I'd relive the memories I had of him and I. I thought that I could sleep through it. But what I saw… I wasn't prepared for that."

"What did you see?"

At the thought of having to relive those dreams, the young vampire's heart sank. They were terrible to witness once. Having to recall them and explain them would be another thing entirely. Something that she wasn't sure she could handle.

"Taylor," Damon said, his voice come out relaxed and reassuring. Taylor looked up at him as he raised his hand and placed it softly on her cheek. "It'll be fine."

As the young girl stared up into his eyes, flashes of the different dreams she had endured flashed in her mind. All the blood, all the innocent people dying; all the screams of the people she held closest to her heart, it all played on in fast forward, like a television that acted on its own, unable to be stopped. And Damon wanted to know that? He wanted to know how many times she had seen him killed and how many times she had to watch them all die, while she was left alone to mourn.

Dragging up courage from deep within, she opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She tried multiple times, but found that no matter what happened, nothing could leave her, nothing that spoke of what she'd seen.

"I can't, Damon."

Again, he pulled her face up to look at him, all the concern he felt pouring out of his eyes and into her own. "You're safe."

"I know, but I just can't… I can't."

It would have been normal for him to get upset, to argue with Taylor about telling him because it could be something important, and they'd start another fight that would end on bad terms, just like the others. But he held his mouth shut, knowing that what she was going through was hurting her and that putting more stress on her would only do her harm.

"Tell me when you're ready, Taylor. Remember that he can't hurt you."

* * *

The rest of the day Taylor stayed locked up in her room; curled in Damon's arms, trying to get back a semblance of the sleep she had evaded the night before. Damon had refused to leave her alone, leaving only once to tell his brother and Elena that Taylor was fine, save the fact that she needed to sleep because she hadn't gotten any the night before. He'd ignored the curious stares they gave him, but knew he'd have to answer to them sooner or later, and he opted for later.

Daylight fell quickly as Taylor awoke every half hour or so from dreams plagued by death and fear, until finally she gave up and took to talking to Damon, about nothing in particular.

"Where you always such a grump?"

Damon pretended to be hurt by the question Taylor posed him, jokingly, though it held an ounce of truth. "I'm not a grump, little one."

"Really, Damon," she cried, slapping his shoulder. "Were you always so… harsh? Didn't you ever relax and have fun?"

The older vampire stared straight ahead at the wall on the other side of the room, his mind recalling his human life. He'd had fun, with Stefan actually, the two had been very close. When had that childish need to be _fun_ stop in him? Was it with Katherine entering their lives? Or was it the fact that the human part of him had died the day he changed into a vampire? "Fun like this?"

Taylor smiled; unaware of his train of thoughts and where it led him. "Yes, fun like this."

"I've never had fun like _this._ But I have had fun."

A smile spread on her features and for the first time since that day, she felt like things might actually be okay. But just like everything in her life, it was always when something was going good, that something went bad. As if the God's themselves were fighting against her, taking pleasure in the pain she felt, a scream erupted from downstairs.

However out of it she had felt that morning, Taylor was very much awake and aware of her surroundings. She and Damon jumped out of bed and rushed down the stairs, following the sound of Stefan calming Elena and telling her to stay back and the smell of smoke that began to fill the house as it attempted to strangle all of its inhabitants. Where they wound up, was the basement.

A fear struck itself deep into Taylor's heart.

Without thinking, she rushed forward: down the stairs, past Elena, stopping next to Stefan, who stood confused and panicking in front of one of the basement doors. The door that Katherine was in.

"Katherine!"

There was no reply; the spell hadn't been taken off the vampire and she remained unable to speak or scream.

The situation as it played itself out was all to real to Taylor. All too much like what she'd already seen for her to be comfortable. "Don't just stand there, Stefan!"

Before she could reach out and grab the handle of the door, Stefan grabbed her and pushed her back against the wall.

"What the hell are you doing, Stefan? I will _not_ let Katherine die!"

"There's a spell on the door. We can't touch it."

Taylor hissed at the boy who stood in the way between herself and her best friend, who at the moment was burning to death. "Get out of my way!"

"Taylor, listen to him," Damon's voice yelled.

The smoke began to fill the basement completely, blocking out almost completely the sight that she relied deeply on. Taylor could just make out the shape of Damon and Elena, who held her hands protectively to her chest. Something was wrong, but she didn't have the time to figure out what that was.

With just enough strength to get him out of her way, Taylor pushed Stefan to the side. She rushed forward, ignoring the sound of the other's screaming at her to stay away. Her hands reached the handle in seconds, and her breath caught in her throat.

A horrified scream ripped itself out of her throat, filling the space between all of them. Taylor's hands were gripped on the handle, a fire burning through the door and through her hands, burning them and feeling as if it were spreading throughout her entire body. No matter how she tried, her grip never faltered from the door. Though the pain was immense, she pushed the door open, engulfed in the smoke and flames that held Katherine capture. As futile as it seemed, the young vampire tried to push through the smoke and somehow find her way to Katherine.

"Taylor," Damon's voice called frantically.

Within seconds, she felt hands gripping her waist, pulling her from the mass grey smoke. Taylor thrashed her body around, wanting so desperately to be let free, to save the one person who had made such a huge difference in her life. But Damon's grip was strong and his intent to get her to safety was too strong. Soon, she was being dragged out of the room and out of the house.

Once she was free of the room and the smoke, Taylor fell limp in Damon's arms. After what felt like an eternity, Taylor could feel the cool breeze of the night air floating around her. Elena, Stefan, and Damon stood in a small circle on the lawn outside the Salvatore boarding house, Taylor cradled in Damon's arms.

Stefan's voice broke through the tenseness of the air. "The fire stopped as we were leaving. The room is empty."

"Empty?"

Stefan nodded his head, "All that's left is a black mess."

Finally, a sob broke from Taylor.

"Taylor?" Damon whispered, concerned, looking down at the girl in his arms.

"You were wrong Damon. He _can_ hurt me."

* * *

**A**nother chapter for my lovely readers. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I rewrote the ending a couple times, but each time it feels rushed, for some reason. I may go back and edit this ending before I post the next chapter or I may leave it. I haven't decided. I will let you know if i do that, though.

Let me know what you thought. Is Katherine really dead? Did Jace do this? What will happen next?

Thanks for reading.


	24. Chapter 24: The Mess I Made

Chapter 24:  
The Mess I Made

* * *

If anything existed that could lift Taylor's spirits and make it feel as if life could vaguely resemble something normal, it would be Katherine showing up in her room. And there she was, leaning against the open window, a smile playing on the corners of her mouth. The wind blew threw the window throwing her hair into a fit of motion around her face. There was nothing alarming about the situation – besides the fact that Katherine had supposedly burned in the basement – that caught Taylor's attention.

Taylor jumped out of bed. She couldn't quite recall how she'd fallen asleep, or when, for that matter. It didn't matter. There wasn't much time to focus on things like that with the person she thought she'd lost forever suddenly standing in front of her.

"Katherine?"

It all felt immensely real but at the same time it felt too unbelievable. Taylor held her breath; waiting for the second she would see Katherine disappear.

"Taylor," the vampire whispered, finally moving, rushing forward and engulfing her friend in the tightest hug she could muster.

The sheer shock kept the embrace longer than usual. When the two separated, tears were falling from Taylor's eyes as she struggled to find the words she wanted so desperately to speak. Everything was rushing back, all at once: everything that happened with Jace, hearing Elena's scream, the fire and the heightened feelings of anger and hurt. The hours of believing Katherine had died, that she would never see her again, it all felt brand new. All the emotions came back, crashing into her with such a force she struggled to comprehend the situation.

"How… is the real?"

Overwhelmed, the young girl took a seat on her bed, her right hand rising to rest on her head, buried in her hair. Katherine was quick to take a seat next to her, assuring her of her presence, physically, as she knew it was what the young girl couldn't quite grasp.

"It's real."

"How is that possible? I saw you burn in that room, Katherine!"

"Did you really see me?"

"Yes, I saw the fire engulf the whole room!"

"You saw the fire."

"_Yes_," she cried in anguish, recalling the memories. "I saw the fire fill the room _you_ died in!"

"But you didn't see _me_."

Realization clicked. Hope filled her body with a profound burst.

"I didn't see _you_! Katherine, I didn't see you!"

Joy overwhelmed the young girl. No matter how silly it seemed to let that one fact spark an ounce of hope in her, she let it. Because with all the hurt she felt from Jace and the death of Katherine that she thought had happened, she needed to believe. She tackled her friend in a hug, the two falling from the bed, landing on the floor in a loud crash. A smile on their faces, the two untangled themselves, but didn't move from their spot on the floor.

"How did you survive?"

"It doesn't matter. I came to tell you something."

"What do you mean you came back to tell me something?"

"You need to get out of Mystic Falls. Tonight."

"Katherine, you're scaring me…"

"Good. You have to leave."

The atmosphere of the room shifted. The once light-hearted feeling changed into one of tenseness and fear, laced with confusion. Taylor propped herself up, leaning back against her arms. She stared down at her friend.

"I don't get it. You almost get killed and you're telling _me_ to leave?"

"That's exactly _why_ I'm telling you to leave. Don't be stubborn. Just listen to me. It's going to get dangerous."

"I am _not_ stubborn, Katherine. And I'm not leaving without knowing why I'm leaving."

Obviously frustrated, Katherine stood, pacing the small space provided by the room. "It's not safe."

"Is that it?"

"Yes."

"Katherine, I trust you, you know that, but I need to know more if you expect me to just leave. And even if I did, I'd have to get Stefan and Elena, Damon and my family. I couldn't leave them in danger if I knew something was coming."

Katherine stopped pacing to turn to Taylor. She walked over and bent down, placing her hands on either side of Taylor's face. With a tone of seriousness, she repeated what she'd told her earlier, "_You need to get out of Mystic Falls. Tonight._"

Then, as quickly as she'd seemed to appear, Katherine disappeared. Not running away disappeared, dissolving into thin air, disappeared. Taylor jumped back, forcing herself to stand and rush to the window. There was no sign of Katherine, but she didn't know exactly what she'd expected to see.

It hadn't been a dream. It was too real for that to be a dream and besides, no matter how hard she shook herself, she didn't wake up screaming in her bed. Taylor couldn't recall earlier how she'd fallen asleep before Katherine showed up, but that was because she _hadn't_ fallen asleep. It wasn't a dream.

Katherine really was okay!

If Katherine was okay, why did she disappear? More importantly, how did she disappear?

With a determination to find out what was going on, Taylor stormed out of her room, down the stairs. Stefan and Damon were talking about something that seemed important, but she didn't hear a word of it. Her mind raced a million miles an hour with thoughts of Katherine and how to find her.

"Taylor?"

Taylor snapped back to reality at the sound of Stefan's voice. "Oh, Stefan. Where's Elena?"

"She went home earlier to check on Jeremy and Jenna, but she's on her way back."

"Oh. Why is she coming back so soon?"

"We've got some trouble, apparently," Damon interrupted.

The sudden mention of trouble alerted Taylor and her interest sparked, which Stefan and Damon both noticed.

"Trouble?"

"John's got his hands on the device."

"The one that Isobel wanted?"

"Bingo."

"Why is that trouble? We don't even know what it does."

"Actually, we do," Stefan spoke, grabbing Taylor's attention.

"Since when did we know this? What does it do?"

"Elena just called a little while ago. Jeremy found an old journal from Jonathon Gilbert and it talks about the device. The device is supposed to incapacitate vampires. We don't know for how long or how strong it will be. But it can't be good in John's hands."

Fear finally began to show its way onto Taylor's face.

"We should get Elena and the others out of Mystic Falls."

Damon, curious as to where the sudden need to get everyone out came from, spoke up. "I know it's trouble, but I don't think it's _that_ dangerous."

"Damon, just believe me, please. It's dangerous."

"Why are you suddenly in a rush to get them out of here? You just found out seconds ago, you didn't even think it through."

"Because I'm not loosing anyone else, Damon!"

Damon knew he said the wrong thing the second the words left his mouth and he regretted it instantly. He knew what Taylor was going through; he'd been there to witness it all.

"What Damon means, Taylor," Stefan said, deflecting the argument, although Damon clearly wanted no help from him. "Is how can you be sure it's that dangerous? I want Elena and the other safe, too, but we can keep them here, in our house."

"I just know it's going to be dangerous."

"How do you know," Stefan questioned.

"Katherine told me."

"Have you lost it?"

Damon had lost all sense of sensitivity that he had achieved the days before. Taylor glared sharply in his direction, irritation setting in.

"No, I have not. Katherine was in my room a few seconds ago."

"We didn't hear her talking."

"Did you even hear _me_ talking?"

"…No"

"Exactly. You must have been so into your conversation with Stefan that you didn't hear."

"Taylor," Stefan stepped in, ever the voice of reason in these conversations. "How can you be sure it wasn't some kind of trick by Jace? He _has_ been trying to get to you after that night in the forest –"

"Stop it, Stefan. I _don't_ want to talk about that right now."

"You're going to have to talk about it sometime."

"Well sometime doesn't have to be now!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in a defeated motion. Taylor turned her back to the two vampires, her voice softening. Though she tried to be hard and sure of herself, too much had happened to her to make that possible. "I saw her and she told me to get out of Mystic Falls. Why would Jace try and get me to leave Mystic Falls?"

Damon, sure that it was all a trick, groaned at her naivety. He needed to be sensitive to the situation, after everything Taylor had gone through, but it was never his style and it was hard for him to continuously remind himself to do so. "To get you alone!"

Taylor felt as exasperated as Damon did, and whirled around, a glare set on her face. "He knows I wouldn't go alone. He knows I wouldn't leave without Elena, Jeremy, and Jenna. Without Stefan… and you."

The atmosphere of the room shifted, suddenly filled with tenseness that left everyone uncomfortable and unsure of what to say next. Damon knew he'd said the wrong thing; he always said the wrong thing when it came to the young vampire. She wanted him to be the caring guy that she saw in him and, though he could at times, for the most part it wasn't who he was.

The other Salvatore brother tried to think of something to say to ease the tension, but nothing could come to mind. He knew his brother regretted what he said, but would never apologize for it. He knew there was a war going on in Taylor's mind about what she desperately wanted to say. Stefan could see the conflicting emotions flicking back and forth in her eyes and the way her mouth would part slightly to speak just as her eyes flashed with the sadness of the hurt she felt.

Minutes passed in silence.

Taylor's eyes fell to the floor, unable to continue staring into Damon's eyes. It only made things worse; made her remember all the memories she didn't want to see. Damon didn't understand. He couldn't – or maybe he just wouldn't – see everything from her point of view. She wanted to keep them safe, she wasn't lying about seeing Katherine, and she wasn't imagining it, either. But that was so hard for him to believe.

The sound of a car pulling into the drive way snapped the three out of their silent thoughts. A few seconds later the car door slammed shut; Elena had come back.

Before she could be brought into the situation and before the arguing could start up, Taylor decided to take things into her own hands. She took one last look back at Stefan and Damon; Damon being the one to lock eyes with her. He sent her a confused glance and she frowned, turning away from him and sprinting out the door. The young vampire ran past Elena and straight into the forest, ignoring the screaming coming from Stefan and Damon telling her to stop.

They didn't believe her that Katherine told her to get out. They didn't even believe she'd seen Katherine. So she was going to find Jace and Katherine and fix everything on her own.

Even if it meant she'd have to die to save the others.

* * *

**H**ey guys! After thursday's episode I went on a bit of a writing spree and this is what I came up with, along with some wonderful plot ideas for the next couple of chapters. So I hope you guys liked it. We're going to have some major confrontation with Jace soon, so look forward to that!

Let me know what you guys think!


	25. Chapter 25: Remember This Moment

Chapter 25:  
_Remember This Moment_

* * *

It turned out that looking for an ex-boyfriend who had turned out to be a witch was harder than Taylor thought. She had half expected him to appear the second her feet hit the clearing in the forest not far from the Salvatore's house. Jace had been looking for _her_, after all; surely he would be watching her? Still, Taylor was met with an empty space filled with memories she wasn't quite ready to tackle. Rather then staying, in fear of the Salvatore brothers' coming and finding her, she traveled farther, not stopping until she was far away enough to be sure they wouldn't find her.

Stefan and Damon, especially the latter of the two, were very persistent when it came to protecting people. There was no doubt in the young vampire's mind that they were thinking of a way to find her, just as she sat on the stump of a fallen tree.

Late into the night, the wind began to pick up, blowing in a nice breeze around Taylor. Her dark hair blew around her face, but she made no move to restrain it. She closed her eyes and took a few deep calming breaths, searching her mind for the memories of Jace that she would always keep safe. The memories of the good times they'd shared when he'd been on her side, or at least when she thought he had been.

_It had been a dark night, a few months after Taylor and Jace had met. He had called her and told her to show up at the park, sounding a bit frantic. The young vampire showed up, excited and confused, unsure of what was going to happen. Within a few minutes, her excitement faded, and she was left with confusion. Jace was nowhere in sight. _

_Had he blown her off?_

_The young girl waited a few more minutes, standing determined despite the sad stares of the people who passed her, like they knew she'd been waiting for a boy. Taylor turned to leave, tears threatening to spill, when her breath caught at the sight before her. _

_Jace had been standing there behind her, a beautiful bouquet of red roses. Shocked, she couldn't move as he stepped closer, gently placing the bouquet in her soft hands. He smiled, a smile with such warmth that it filled the girl before him, causing her face to break out in the brightest smile he'd ever seen. _

_The flowers were gorgeous and Taylor thought it had been why he was late, that he had picked up the flowers, and that they were ready to go. The young vampire held the flowers tight, the sweet scent drifting up towards her and surrounding her in the most pleasant way possible. Before she could thank him, he bent down on one knee, and gazed softly up at her._

"_Taylor Gilbert, I love you with all my heart."_

A tear fell from Taylor's eyes, with a soft, mesmerized smile on her face. Despite what she'd thought, and the way her heart had raced the second he had bent down, Jace hadn't asked her to marry him. He'd gotten on one knee and told her he loved her, and asked her to accept the ring as a reminder of the love he felt and that he wanted to be as close to her as he could.

Subconsciously, Taylor played with the ring, still safe around her right ring finger. Even after everything that had happened and how much she felt like she had lost the Jace she had once known, she couldn't bring herself to take it off. It hurt too much to think about accepting that he was gone.

"I meant to ask you to marry me that night."

Caught off guard, Taylor bolted from her seat, turning to face Jace with a caution that he wasn't used to seeing on her face. "What?"

"That night that I gave you that ring, I meant to ask you to marry me," he told her, honestly. He ran a hair through his black hair, the way he did before he would explain something to her. Jace had done it dozens of times before, when she'd get interested in his past and ask him to tell her about it.

Taylor's conflicted emotions flashed through her eyes as she watched Jace look at her with steady, green eyes.

"I had spent the entire week searching for the right ring: something that was nice, but not over the top. Something that reminded me of you. It was that day, actually, that I found it. I knew it was the perfect ring the moment I saw it. That was why I sounded so excited when I called you. I couldn't wait to show it to you and to hear you say that you'd be my wife."

Surprised that she wanted to know, _needed_ to know more, Taylor questioned him. "Why didn't you ask me?"

Jace sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe it was because no matter what, I'm still just a normal guy, and commitment like that scares the crap out of most guys. Maybe it was because I was afraid you'd say no," he paused, his eyes locking onto Taylor's. "If I remember, I couldn't bring myself to ask you because I knew how you'd react when I told you why I had gotten close to you in the beginning."

"It's not exactly something you want to hear someone tell you when they propose. '_Will you marry me? Oh, by the way, I only started going out with you to get closer to your best friend, who is a vampire, so that I could kill her.'_ Not exactly the best line."

"And it's why I never asked and why I never told you."

Taylor was surprised at the strong sense that she felt that it would be the last time she'd have the chance to talk to him. Spurred by the sudden ache the feeling brought, she forced herself to ask, "Did you ever _really_ love me?"

There was no hesitation in his answer.

"After the first few days of knowing you, of being around you, I fell in love."

"Then how could you do this to me?"

"I had no other choice."

"There is _always_ a choice, Jace."

"No. You have no idea how wrong those words are."

"You have a choice to tell me the truth, or to lie. You have the choice to kill Katherine or to let her live. You have the choice to live with me and experience life by my side, or to make yourself my enemy. There is a choice."

"Not everything is as clear cut, Taylor. If there had been even the slightest hint of a choice to leave what I had to do behind, I would have. If I had been given the chance to love you fully and to always be by you, I would have taken it in a heartbeat."

"You could have told me what you had to do! We could have fought whomever it was that was forcing you to do this. You could have made the choice to fight," Taylor yelled, tears threatening to fall.

Finally, since she'd left him standing at the door, telling him to never come back, she faced her emotions. She felt with such intensity all the hurt that came with the lack of trust. All the things he had told her over the year felt like dirty lies. None of it felt true, when it had felt so real when he had first said them. The guilt plagued her mind, too. Guilt that she should have somehow been able to see that he was hiding something from her. That she should have been able to pick up on something, _anything_.

And the hope; the hope that this was all some bizarre dream that she would wake up from at any moment, wrapped in Jace's arms. Hope that what he said now was true, that the love he felt for her had been real.

"If I fought him, _you_ would have been in danger, too!"

"I am in danger, Jace! Not fighting didn't solve a thing."

"It kept you safe!"

"I'm still hurt, Jace. It was just _you_ who hurt me and not someone else."

"I did what I did to protect you. Everything I do is to protect you," Jace whispered, desperately. He closed the space between the two, Taylor too conflicted to move away. He raised his hands, placing them lightly on the cheeks of the girl in front of him. Bright green eyes searched the bright blue orbs before him, hoping to see some hint of the love they shared before everything took a spiral downward. Jace saw what he needed to see. Slowly, with the same passion and the same love that always filled them both before, the witch closed the space between their faces.

His lips crashed down on hers with a passion so strong, there was no doubt in Taylor's mind that some part of what they had, had been real. Unexplainably and undeniably real; the rawest kind of real there was when it came to love.

The vampires eyes fluttered shut, pretending for just that moment that nothing had happened and they weren't even in Mystic Falls. They were back in Chicago, sitting on Jace's bed in his flat. They were holding each other close, like they did so many times before, and nothing else mattered in the world. Everything was right and love was all they knew.

When their lips parted, tears fell from Taylor's eyes. No matter how much he had done to her, how he had hurt her, he was still her Jace. Nothing he could do would make her not love him. He was her first love and you _always_ forgive your first love.

Inches away from her face, Jace raised a soft hand and wiped away the tears, a sad smile on his lips. Taylor searched his eyes, finding the love and sadness, mixed within a whirlwind of emotions. His right palm rested gently on her cheek.

"Remember this moment, Taylor. Promise me you'll remember the raw love that you know I feel for you and the truth that you know I'm speaking to you about everything you asked me. Promise me you'll remember me in this positive light."

Unable to speak, she simply nodded her head, the tears still falling.

"Remember I love you. _Forever and always._"

Mustering the strength to talk, Taylor replied, "I love you too."

Despite everything, she did. The lies, the pain, the betrayal didn't matter. This was her Jace and she would love him forever, no matter what.

Jace's face changed and his eyes showed the sadness and regret he felt, for something Taylor wasn't sure of.

"I'm so sorry, Taylor."

"What? I don't understand – "

Before she could finish her sentence, a searing pain spread through her body, originating from her back. Surprised and confused, the vampire stumbled back a bit, away from a now silently crying Jace. With much struggle, she reached her hand behind her. Taylor could just barely feel the end of the wooden stake sticking out from her back.

Taylor didn't understand. Nothing was making sense. Jace had betrayed her again, that much she knew, though she didn't pretend to understand why or to ignore the hurt she felt. But he was crying, so he hadn't wanted to do it. And it hadn't been Jace who'd struck her.

With a tremendous amount of effort, the young vampire turned around to face the person who had stabbed her with the wooden stake. She was met by a completely unfamiliar face; he was tall, with short brown hair, and piercing brown eyes matched in its intensity by his cruel smirk. This man was definitely a vampire and he wanted something from her.

"My dear Taylor, I've been waiting for this moment for a very long time now."

The vampire had known what he was doing when he stabbed her, placing the stake in just the right position where she couldn't take it out, but where it would deal enough damage to keep her strength very low.

Taylor didn't bother trying to speak. There were too many questions running through her mind for there to be enough strength for her to voice them. The tears she spilt soon turned to desperate ones, filled with the fear that coursed through her veins. With all the strength she had, she turned and tried to run away from the strange situation she'd found herself in. The young vampire didn't get very far before the little strength she had faded and she fell towards the floor.

Expecting the harsh impact of the floor, she squeezed her eyes shut, but the impact never came. A pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist, lifting her up, and she found herself cradled in the arms of the stranger who made her feel a fear that ran deeper than she'd ever felt.

"Thank you Jace, you've successfully brought me what I wanted."

"You promised you wouldn't hurt her, Klaus."

The stranger – _Klaus_ – shifted his gaze from the girl in his arms; to the boy he knew loved her. His gaze was serious and he spoke in a low tone.

The way Klaus spoke sent a shiver down Taylor's spine. "It was never my intention to."

* * *

**H**ey there, guys! So I've got another chapter out and I've introduced Klaus! I know you all are probably thinking, "THIS ISN'T THE STORY LINE FROM THE SERIES!" While I had intended to follow the series somewhat, I didn't intend to solely do that, as if I wanted it to be the same I'd just tell you guys to watch the series. Haha. I hope you don't mind terribly.

And I ask that you answer this in your reviews: What do you think of Klaus wanting Taylor for his own? As in, he wants her to be his partner, I suppos_e, wife_, even?

It would definitely add more plot to the story, but it would terribly interrupt the budding romance of Damon and Taylor. Although I can tell you they've got the hots for each other and are definitely willing to do whatever it takes to save the other. So let me know and thanks for reading!


	26. Chapter 26: Trapped

Chapter 26:  
Trapped

* * *

Sleep comes easy when you've a wooden stake stuck in your back, draining all your energy and for Taylor, that was a good thing. She hadn't gotten a good night sleep in a very long time, and the short minutes that it gave her, felt like hours. When she woke from someone calling her name, the young girl had no idea where she was, or how she could escape whatever was to come of things.

"Taylor," the voice called again, more demanding this time.

It was a voice that Taylor could barely recognize and though she was groggy, she forced herself up into a sitting position. As her eyes flickered open, her blue eyes came face to face with those of Klaus. In a sharp intake, her breath caught in her throat.

"You're up."

"You woke me up," she snapped without thinking, a force of habit she'd gotten into from talking with Damon.

The young girl had to admit that she had expected a blow to come her way from the stranger in front of her. She knew very little of him, only that he had stuck a wooden stake deep into her back. Instinctively, as her mind replayed the event in her mind, Taylor's hand reached up to the spot she knew it had been. It was gone.

"I took it out a while ago, to let you sleep."

Taylor glanced up at the older vampire, curiosity playing on her features. "Thank you. That was… nice."

"Such a tone of surprise."

"Well, you _did_ stick a wooden stake in my back and kidnap me. _Niceness_ isn't something I was expecting to wake up to."

"It's not my intention to hurt you, Taylor."

Cautious on the subject, she stood, piercing him with her gaze. "Then what _are_ your intentions, Klaus?"

"That is for me to know."

"You kidnapped me, the least you could do is tell me what the hell you want!"

Though she'd gotten away with snapping at him earlier, he would not stand for it this time. In a second, Klaus was in front of Taylor, his hand wrapped around her neck. A look of complete anger filled his eyes and it frightened Taylor, who was unsure at the moment just how capable he was.

"Just because I said I don't intend to hurt you, doesn't mean I won't if you provoke me. If you wish to live, you do not want to provoke me."

The grip he held around Taylor's neck loosened and his gaze shifted as the sound of footsteps came from around the corner. To her surprise, it was Jace, who looked just as surprised to see her in the position she was in: Klaus' hand still loosely wrapped around her neck.

"You said you wouldn't hurt her," he hissed, his eyes burning holes into Klaus.

"If she does not provoke me, I will not hurt her," he repeated what he had said only moments earlier. As an after thought, he added, "You'll be best to watch how you speak to me, if _you_ want to live."

Taylor's head pounded with the amount of confusion she felt. Jace had handed her over to this stranger, Klaus, that much she knew, though she didn't pretend to understand. What she couldn't grasp was whom Klaus was and what it was he wanted with her. She was nothing special, unless you could count knowing Katherine as being special (as Taylor was pretty sure this was the person who had commanded Jace to kill her). If it were simply Klaus' intention to kidnap her, what would he need Jace to stick around for?

So deep into her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that Klaus' had let go of her neck and had turned his back to her, focusing on doing something she didn't bother to see. With a sudden thought, and very little time to think about it or to act on it, for that matter, Taylor ran to the door, pushing it open. She got so far as to reach the yard in front of the house before a pair of hands grabbed her from behind and threw her harshly back into the house. She landed in a pile on the hard floor.

With a snarl, she was up on her feet, the energy she'd lost earlier now completely returned. Her glare focused itself on Klaus, who seemed extremely calm for someone who had just tossed another person across the room.

"You are not leaving," he commanded, as it would stop the girl from trying to leave.

"You can't keep me here," she snapped back; ready to attack his slowly approaching form.

Within seconds, Klaus stood in front of Taylor, calm and collected. His hands rose up and held her face roughly, keeping her eyes locked on his. Though she struggled to pull her face free, using her hands to tug at his arms, she failed to remove herself from his grip. This vampire, whom ever he was and whatever he wanted with her, was very strong and very old.

"You are to do whatever I tell you to do, whenever I tell you to. Do you understand, Taylor?"

Against her will, she replied, "Yes, I do."

Satisfied, Klaus let his hands drop, a smirk much worse than Damon's playing on his face. He had compelled her! Was that possible, for a vampire to compel another vampire?

Taylor knew it was pointless, but she had to try. Once more, she took off running towards the door. She had almost reached it when Klaus called out, demanding that she could not leave the house. If she hadn't been compelled, she would have been able to leave with ease. Yet, the second she reached the door, she stopped, unable to go any further.

"Come here," the voice she was beginning to hate called out.

Still under the compulsion, she turned and made her way over to the older vampire, confused by the hurt and angered look Jace was sending toward Klaus.

Taylor stopped just by his side, bending her head slightly to look up at him, as he was a few inches taller than herself. What she saw was strange and frightening, and she was unsure of how a look of such longing could be held in the eyes of someone she had never before met.

The next words he uttered broke her.

"Kiss me," Klaus commanded.

"_No_," she hissed, struggling against the strong will of the compulsion he held her under. "_I will _not!"

"Now." His voice grew louder, bolder, more commanding, and it made it harder for her to resist, but she did.

"_N-no."_

"Now," he yelled, succeeding in breaking the block she'd made against his compulsion.

Quickly, against her better instincts and her will, Taylor moved forward. Her arms wrapped around his neck, just as his wrapped around her waist, bringing her closer to him than she wished to ever be again. She closed her eyes and leaned forward, her lips crashing onto his. The longing and the lust scared her, made her want to run, but she couldn't.

Everything about the simple kiss he demanded set her body on edge. She didn't want this – her _body_ didn't want this. It was so different from kissing Jace or kissing Damon. Then she'd wanted the kiss, she treasured the love and caring. This was different. She wanted no part in the passion.

When they broke apart, Taylor couldn't stop the sob that broke out of her or the tears that began to spill. No look of hurt or caring came from Klaus. He simply smirked.

"You are _mine_, Taylor."

* * *

The only thing Taylor could think of was that Elena and the others where in danger due to Jonathon Gilbert possessing the device and the fact that she could do nothing to help them. The young vampire was cooped up in what she assumed would now be her room in Klaus' house, staring out the window, watching as the sun rose.

She had moved very little from the moment she entered the room, minutes after Klaus forced her to kiss him and proclaimed that she was his, whatever he meant by that. Taylor would figure it out at a later time – she had the feeling she had quite a bit of time to do thinking. What she really focused on was somehow finding a way to help Elena.

But that was a stupid thought for someone stuck in a house with the enemy.

Earlier, the young girl had overheard a conversation between Klaus and Jace. They'd mentioned the Founder's Day celebration and Klaus instructed Jace to keep his attention focused on it. There was something he wanted to happen, and anything Klaus wanted to happen could not be good.

Moments after their conversation ended, Jace had disappeared, leaving only Taylor and Klaus in the house. After the first five minutes of silence passed and he kept to himself, Taylor had relaxed, just the slightest, though it did not last as long as she wished.

"Taylor," his voice called to her, from downstairs, in his normal tone, yet demanding all the same.

"_What?"_

She knew she was pushing it – that Klaus wasn't someone to toy with – but she could not help herself.

"Come down her, _now_."

In a second, she'd made her way downstairs, leaning against the wall across the room from Klaus. Taylor raised her hands, folding them across her chest, a look of indifference on her face. "Did you want something."

"I would like for you to keep me company."

"I'm not much of a conversationalist."

Determined to prove his dominance – his power over the girl – Klaus replied, "Then come and sit by me."

"I don't care much for _physical_ contact."

"Enough," he demanded. "Come here and sit."

Against her will, she did as she was told. Seated next to the older vampire, she refused to speak. She averted her eyes to the spot she had occupied a few seconds ago.

"You are nothing like Katherine, Taylor."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

Without missing a beat, he answered, "Yes."

Taylor hissed, an immediate reaction. "Watch it!"

Klaus turned sharply, facing Taylor, who sat beside him on one of the large couches in the living room area. The anger on his face showed, his fangs visible, as he pushed the young vampire down on the couch, hands on either side of her shoulders.

"_You_ best watch what you say," he snapped.

"I do not watch what I say for _anyone_."

"Katherine, would not have stood up to me," he reasoned.

"I don't care," she hissed, putting her hands on his chest, using all the strength she had and the element of surprise to push him off her. She had managed to use enough force to send him flying across the room, landing roughly into a glass table, shattering it to millions of pieces.

As quick as she could, she jumped off the couch and raced toward the door. He had not commanded her to stay, she could have left, but his reflexes were better than hers, with hundreds of years of practice. Klaus was up in less than a second, running across the room with a piece of steel that had broken off from the table in his hand. The second Taylor reached the door, he plunged the piece through her body, just missing her heart.

A searing pain shot through her body, spreading quickly from her back in such a short time, that the origin of the wound was hard to trace.

"You missed my heart," she hissed, in pain and very aware of the fact that Klaus was close behind her, his breath warm on her neck.

"I never miss."

"Kill me."

"I will never kill you, my dear."

Tears of frustration fell from her eyes. "Why?"

"Because you are _mine_ and I want you by my side _forever_."

* * *

**S**o, here's another chapter! Keep in mind, while all of this is happening with Taylor, the celebration is happening with the whole Gilbert device and such. Because of this, Taylor misses it. Sucks, I know. But it does make Damon worry more about her. Let me know what you thought!


	27. Chapter 27: Monster

Chapter 27:  
_Monster_

* * *

After her little attempt at an escape, Klaus refused to let Taylor out of his sight, much to her dismay. Whenever she got up and tried to leave the room, he'd either follow her or demand her to sit down – which she had to do, still under the compulsion. She did _not_ approve to being babysat, which is what it felt like. Klaus may have been the oldest vampire around but it made it not less degrading. Like he thought he was supposed to be able to trust her after he kidnapped her. Was he _stupid?_

"How long are you planning on keeping this up," Taylor questioned, her voice soft and irritated. She had already tried being rude – she'd got stabbed for it, actually.

Klaus sighed. Her questions were starting to annoy him. He raised his hand and ran it through his hair. "Forever. I already told you."

"Why me? What's so special that you have to do this to me?"

"Must you ask so many questions?"

His patience was running thin.

"I have nothing else to do. I can't exactly _walk out of here_ and go to the founder's day celebration, can I?"

Ignoring her question, the vampire answered with an exaggerated sigh. "Elena is the only _human_ doppelganger left, I have other needs for her. Katherine is dead," he continued, but Taylor interrupted him.

"Katherine's not dead."

"_Katherine is dead_."

"Why do you need a human dopple-whatever?"

"You will find out later."

"That doesn't explain why you need me."

"You are the only one left."

"Gee, I'm special. But that doesn't mean anything. You don't even know me."

"I know quite a bit about you, my dear."

Peeved by his use of _my dear_ to address her and his thinking that he knew her, Taylor scoffed. "Oh really? Then do enlighten me since the first time I ever talked to you was hours ago."

"You left Mystic Falls a year ago in search of Katherine, because of dreams you used to have. You found her and she turned you the first night you met. The two of you grew close and you met Jace. And you two, what was it now, _fell head over heels for each other_. Then he 'mysteriously' disappeared," he scoffed, his eyes raised meeting the challenging glare of Taylor. "Shall I continue?"

The vampire was mocking her. She did not like it. Her face set into a hard glare, but she knew she could do nothing. Klaus was much to strong for her to take on.

"None of that means anything. You still don't know _me_."

In less than a second, the older vampire was off the chair, kneeling in front of the young girl. Used to the speed vampires possessed, she remained calm, though her insides screamed at the sudden closeness of the vampire.

"You are kinder than you want anyone to know, _weaker_ because of it. You're extremely loyal to your friends and family, even those _ridiculous_ Salvatore brothers. Quick to act without thinking."

"That doesn't mean you know _me_. I'm a lot more than that," she hissed, refusing to be defeated.

Klaus simply smirked at her response, as if he had expected such a response to leave her lips. The younger vampire was uncomfortable with the closeness between the vampire and herself. Taylor pulled away, using her arms to drag herself back, sliding across the floor a foot or two. The little attempt she made did nothing – the second she backed up, Klaus moved forward.

Taylor moved again – Klaus followed. She continued to move, to play the game with the vampire until there was no room left to move. The young girl found herself backed up against a wall too soon for her liking.

"You can't escape me," Klaus whispered, leaning in with his mouth close to Taylor's ear, his breath hot on her skin. "Just give in to me."

"N-never," Taylor replied, her voice betraying her, coming out soft and weak.

"Never is a long time for a vampire, my dear."

"Bite me," she hissed, her voice regaining the sharpness it usually held.

Once the words left her lips, she regretted it. His fangs were out, glaring her right in the face. Taylor gulped, suppressing the surprised yelp that wanted to force its way out. She would not give him the satisfaction.

"My pleasure," he smirked, leaning in.

Taylor felt her breath quickening, the only thought running through her mind was the question of whether or not it was actually happening. Thankfully, before her question could be answered, the front door swung open and grabbed Klaus' attention. Taylor took the chance to stand quickly, rushing to the other side of the room, her breathing still fast and her mind still racing.

"Jace," Klaus hissed, a warning evident in the tone of his voice.

A guilty look plastered itself on Taylor's face. It felt like she'd been caught cheating, though that was the farthest thing from the truth.

The witch in question's face set into a hard glare, fixed on Klaus, though his gaze shifted between the two vampires in the room. "Everything is going smoothly. Jonathon Gilbert has the device. It will happen in a couple of hours."

_Jonathon Gilbert? The device? _

An icy fear coursed through Taylor's veins. "What's going to happen and what does it have to do with Jonathon Gilbert?"

"That is none of your business," Klaus snapped.

It was as much a warning to Jace to not bring it up as it was to Taylor to drop the subject. But she couldn't just drop it. The lives of the people she loved where at stake and while there was practically nothing she could do confined in the house, she would get information in the hopes of escaping and helping.

"Why are you trying to incapacitate vampires? Aren't you a vampire?"

Klaus' attention snapped to the young girl and soon he stood in front of her, a menacing look on his face. From the corner of her eyes, Taylor watched as Jace's eyes widened, a look of horror replacing the previous glare.

"Where did you get that information?"

"That is none of _your_ businesses," she replied.

Aggravated, the older vampire wrapped his hand around her neck, slamming her back against the wall hard enough to cause a trickle of blood to seep from a gash in her head caused by the impact. He snarled, no hint of anything but anger in his eyes.

"_Where did you get that information?_"

In an last attempt at directing the attention away from Elena and the others, she spat out, "Isobel."

"You're lying."

"I am not."

Klaus didn't trust her. Of course he didn't. He had no reason to believe she would be telling the truth to him, the vampire who had taken her captive. His eyes locked onto hers as he compelled her, demanding the truth.

"Stefan and Damon Salvatore told me before you kidnapped me. Elena called and said that Jeremy had found it in an old Gilbert journal."

Satisfied that he had gotten the information he'd wanted, Klaus let his grip drop, watching as the vampire before him fell to the ground, bringing her knees to her chest. Even as the tears fell down her face at the knowledge that she had betrayed her friends, he made no sign of caring. _Pathetic_, actually, was what he thought. The vampire had plans for Taylor, plans that would require a lot of toughening up. Which he would enjoy.

"Take her to her room and keep an eye on her. Keep your hands to yourself," he demanded, sending a warning look at Jace before disappearing to another part of the house.

"Come on," Jace sighed.

Though Taylor tried not to care for the witch that had betrayed her more than once, her heart gave a twinge as she looked at his face closer. His face was worn down – bags were dark under his eyes with a constant worry line creased onto his forehead. When he spoke, his voice came out tired and upset.

Jace reached out and grabbed her arm lightly, leading her up the stairs and toward her room. Neither of the two spoke. It wasn't that they had nothing to say – their minds raced with thoughts, things that wanted to be said, but they knew better. Klaus was still in the house and would hear everything they said.

As they entered her room, Jace shut the door behind her, holding his hands out toward the door. Taylor raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to question his actions, but he held up a finger to silence her. A few seconds later, he turned to face her.

"We only have a few minutes before he realizes something's up," he said quickly.

"What do you mean? Can't he hear us?"

"No. I put a spell on the room. But he's going to realizes something's up when he doesn't hear any noises."

Jace was talking quickly, rushed, like there was something he had to say – like it was the last chance they'd see each other.

"Jace, you're scaring me. Stop it."

"I know, Taylor, but I have to say this. This is the last chance I have."

Ignoring the pounding of her heart, Taylor let him close the space between them, and watched as he grabbed both of her hands and held them in his own. It reminded her of the many times he'd done it before.

"The last chance? Look, Jace, I can't do this with you right now. I'm worried about the others and I'm stressing out about not being able to anything. I'm stuck in the house with a lunatic who thinks he can _keep_ me for his own, I don't know, whatever the hell he wants."

"Listen to me," Jace insisted, dropping her hands to hold her cheeks gently to focus on him. "I need to say this, okay?"

Taylor nodded her head, silent.

"I know you're mad at me – that's probably an understatement – but I need you to hear me say this once… Taylor, I love you with all my heart. I know I've done _so_ many things to hurt you and I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I want you to know that everything I told you was true. Every time I said I loved you I spoke the truth – and it wasn't because Klaus wanted me to. "

His name came out in a struggled whisper, leaving her lips almost reluctantly. "Why… why are you telling me this _now_?"

"Because this is the only time we have left, Taylor! I love you – with my heart, my soul, my _everything_."

As soon as the words left his lips, he pulled the young girl as close to him as he could, keeping both hands pressed warmly on her cheeks. His lips crashed down on her, her eyes fluttering shut. A tear slipped from her eyes, falling slowly down her cheek before it broke off and fell to the floor.

The kiss was filled with so much passion – the kind of kiss you dream about getting when you're a little girl; you picture the sparks flying and the boy you love holding you close. Only it was different. It was so much more intense than it had ever been between the two. There weren't sparks – there were fireworks.

Every fiber of Taylor's body felt tingly, as if an electric current was flowing through her body from Jace. The longer the kiss went on, the stronger it felt, and the stronger _she_ felt. Their eyes were closed blissfully. Taylor couldn't see the strange glowing that flowed from Jace's body to her own, the very glowing that Jace was well aware of.

"_No!"_

The strong, loud voice boomed through the room, snapping Jace and Taylor from their moment of bliss. Reality came crashing back and Taylor barely caught a glimpse of the fading glow that surrounded her before her attention was focused on Klaus.

"What have you been up to," he hissed, his eyes burning holes through Jace, who suddenly looked as tired as Taylor had ever seen him.

Jace's eyes fluttered to focus on Taylor. "Remember what I told you, Taylor, and believe in the power I gave you."

The young vampire was confused – _what power?_ "Jace? What are you talking about?"

Before she could get her answer, Klaus sped across the room. He raised his hand in the air and he quickly plunged it forward, pushing his fist straight through Jace's chest. Blood flooded out as Jace gasped in pain, his eyes not once leaving the girl he loved. Slowly, but surely, the life seeped out of his eyes. His body began to fall limp, held up only by the hand of Klaus, who smirked menacingly the entire time.

With a quick movement, Klaus pulled his hand back, holding Jace's now lifeless heart in his hands triumphantly. A ghastly sound escaped Jace's lips before his body fell limp, his eyes flickering shut.

A horrified scream escaped Taylor's lips as she rushed to his side. "Jace… Jace! _No_, this can't be happening. Heal yourself, use your magic!"

Sitting besides his dead body, the young vampire clung to the boy she would always love, tears falling from her eyes, blurring her vision. Sobs racked her body. In a desperate attempt to save the life of her first love, she exposed her fangs, biting into her arm. She thrust her bleeding wrist to his mouth, but nothing happened.

A voice snickered from her right.

"Doesn't work if he doesn't have a heart."

Hysterical, Taylor flicked her eyes to face him. She stood in a flash of rage, running towards him as fast as she could, fangs bared. She would never be able to kill him – he was far to strong, to _old_ and experienced for that – but she was not thinking straight. It may have been luck, but she got to him.

With a satisfying feeling she plunged her fangs deep into his throat, ripping away at the vampire like a monster, unaware of the smirk plastered on Klaus' face.

* * *

**H**ello my dear readers! I do hope you enjoyed that chapter. It definitely was interesting to write and I have to say that i enjoyed it _very_ much! I'd love to know what you thought of the ending part of this chapter. About Klaus? Jace? Taylor? _The glowing after the kiss?_ I really do appreciate everyone who reads and especially those of you who take a few seconds to review. Your reviews are what keep my writing and let's me know you guys are interested! So thank you, very very much.

**THIS IS IMPORTANT:** as you may know, this would be the ending of season 1: the founder's day celebration and what not. Now, I _am_ going to end this story here. **BUT DON'T PANIC!** I will be continuing it in a sequel, I promise. It will not, however, be out for a couple of weeks at the earliest. I want to get a few chapters written up before I post anything. **I will be posting a note here in the story when I post the sequel to let anyone who puts this story on alert to know it is out.** I do hope my dear readers, that you will put up with the wait and read the sequel! I've got some interesting things planned!

**Also, as a special gift to my dear readers:** I will be posting a note (besides the one that lets you know the sequel is up) that will contain a special sneak peak of the first chapter in the sequel! Within the next week or so!


	28. SNEAK PEAK AT SEQUEL

_Here is a special sneak peak of the sequel that will be post within the next couple of weeks. It's not a full continuous peak. It's more like bits in pieces.  
I hope you enjoy it. Look forward to the sequel!  
At the moment, I adore the thought of having "Beauty of the Dark" as the title.  
What do you guys think? Any suggestions?  
_

* * *

"I thought you might be hungry."

"Well I'm not, so let him go."

She _was_ hungry, actually. The irritating itch at the back of her throat from the lack of blood was starting up and it would have felt so incredible to sink her teeth into the boy's neck, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction this time around.

* * *

"If you kill him, I'll make your life a living hell."

"You don't have that kind of power, my dear."

Taylor hissed at his words, causing the boy to jump in surprise in her arms. Her eyes narrowed in a glare, though it only caused the vampire standing in front of her to smirk.

"You plan on keeping me by your side forever. That is a _long_ time to try."

It was almost an empty threat. There was no way she would get enough power to do anything of harm to him. And he knew that. As she would grow stronger, so would he. It would forever be an unchanging cycle. But the need to try was there.

"Suck him dry or I will. And I will not be gentle about it," He threatened.

* * *

Taylor tiled his neck to the side, plunging her lips to his throat, her fangs piercing through his soft skin causing a surprised and pain filled gasp to escape his lips. As soon as the blood hit the back of her throat, she realized how hungry she was. It wasn't hard to get lost in the warmth that it brought and the satisfaction it made her feel. Soon she was greedily sucking, wanting more and more with each drop that entered her mouth and slid down her throat.

This was what Klaus wanted and he watched in satisfaction as she transformed before him. The emotion he often noticed was devoid from her features. In its place was the vampire instinct to feed and kill.

* * *

It had been so easy to push it all aside and to focus on the blood.

It was so easy for her to kill that it scared her.


	29. LAST AUTHOR NOTE

**Hey there my readers!**

**The sequel has been posted.**

**It's titled:**

**"Beauty of the Dark"**

**I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**AND THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME THIS FAR! **

**3**

**3**

**3**


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